The Granger Resistance Program
by Tina Redwood
Summary: Hermione Granger is a pure-blood Slytherin elitist, and Draco Malfoy is a Muggle-born Gryffindor. And Dumbledore can't even.
1. The Program

**A/N: **This is my first _real_ AU piece. The idea of reversed lives is from Allielovestoread! I know it's not quite what you were expecting from me, but I promise it'll be fun. I won't explain the AU aspects; they will be obvious as you read. Let me know what you think in your review! ~ Tina

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Program**

* * *

"And...that would be Hermione Granger," said the bottle-nosed fourth year to the wide-eyed first year. They had just jumped out of the way of the seventh year girl, primly dressed in her Slytherin uniform, walking swiftly down the hallway.

"Wait," said the first year, blinking. "Of _the_ Granger family? As in Prime Minister Granger?"

"Yep. Her father spent years as Prime Minister and teaches here, though here he goes by his middle name Hensen. And her mum was a Quidditch legend as Matilda Cliff before she married him. Filthy rich, obsessively pure-blood, and not an entirely likable family, if you ask me."

Hermione did not hear any of this, but she wouldn't have minded even if she had. None of it was false. And she knew all of that was why she was placed in Slytherin when she began at Hogwarts, although her smarts should have placed her in Ravenclaw. Both her parents had been pure-blood and Slytherins, and her brains did not stand a chance against the Slytherin obsession with being pure-blooded. The Hat rarely budged about that, although the Weasleys and the famous Harry Potter were notable exceptions.

She turned the corner and found what she had been looking for.

"Hey," she said.

"Merlin, I love your smirks," said Blaise Zabini, emerging from the shadows. He reached for her and pulled her into a corner. She allowed herself to let out a small laugh as he pinned her up against the wall and kissed her on the lips.

Tall, dark, and handsome, Zabini was everything a girl would want in a casual relationship. She was careful however not to call him her boyfriend, although her mother would have been thrilled to hear she was dating a nice pure-blood boy. _Dating_ didn't quite fit their relationship. And _nice_ didn't quite fit Blaise Zabini in the sense that her mother or any other parent would have used it.

Just as Blaise's hand began to creep up the back of her bare thigh under her skirt, there came footsteps accompanied by a chorus of tiny but still very irritating shrieks. Hermione gently pushed Blaise back and fixed her uniform. She would not be caught dead frolicking with a boy by any professor; she would get an earful from her father.

"Of course it's you three," said Blaise, quite obviously annoyed. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Draco Malfoy stopped in their tracks before them, apparently surprised to see them. The Three Musketeers of Gryffindor, they were so often called by the Muggle-borns at school. Hermione wasn't quite sure what the Three Musketeers were, but she got the general idea. To her however they were nothing but a group of hooligans, and the fact that all threes' hands were full with shrieking pixies seemed to support this view.

"What are you doing here?" asked Harry Potter, looking suspiciously at the two.

"I could ask the same of you, Potter," said Hermione curtly.

"Gentlemen, we appear to have walked into a Slytherin snogging session between Miss Granger and Mr. Zabini," said Draco Malfoy with a snicker. "We ought to give them some privacy."

She ignored him. "Excuse me." She left the hallway immediately.

"As much as I'm not a fan of you, Zabini," she heard Ron Weasley say as she walked away, "you can probably do better than _her_."

_As if I care what a blood traitor thinks,_ she thought to herself, rolling her eyes. A ridiculous group, those three were. A blood traitor, a clueless pure-blood, and...that Mudblood Draco Malfoy.

He was the most ridiculous out of the three, she thought. Despite being Muggle-born he had the audacity to be one of the smartest wizards in her grade, which annoyed her to no end. He was also in fact easily the most popular of the three, and even she had to acknowledge the reasons: he had the delicate features, the lean but still clearly muscled body, and the confidence fit for boys who look like that. Oh, and that hair that so many girls were obsessed with. It was almost humorous to see the jet black, red, and silver blond heads of male hair tearing up the halls of Hogwarts together.

* * *

Draco stretched and yawned. He pushed the pile of books on his bed off onto the floor and plopped down. It had been a long day, and he didn't have the energy to do the required reading for his classes.

"You know," he said as he heard Ron enter and plop down on his own bed, "maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go along with the plan after Granger saw us with the pixies."

Their plan had been to lock pixies in the desk drawers of the famous William Hensen Granger III, the ex-Prime Minister and now the Alchemy professor. In the interest of "not intimidating the students with the familiar name" he had insisted on being called Professor Hensen at school, but it wasn't as if anyone didn't know or if he didn't make it a point to be intimidating in other ways. None of these boys of course took Alchemy, but they disliked him anyway because he had allegedly been nasty to Ron's father few years back and was notoriously discriminatory against Muggle-borns.

"Do you think she's a tattletale?" asked Ron. "I mean, I don't think we ever got in trouble with her dad because of her."

This was true. Hensen began teaching about four years ago, and since then the boys had pulled off at least ten elaborate pranks. At least four of them had been somewhat witnessed by Hermione Granger before execution, but Hensen never was able to track the pranks back to the boys. He of course never really suspected students who were not in his on-again, off-again Alchemy class.

"She better not," said Harry from his bunk by the window. "Or we can leave Hensen a little note about her getting friendly with Zabini."

"You reckon they _were_ snogging?" asked Draco, staring up at the ceiling.

"Why, jealous?" laughed Ron. Draco threw his Potions supplement at him. "Ow!" Ron looked down at the book. "Oh, is this helpful? Can I borrow it?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "As if you'd actually read it."

"I think I'm failing Potions," whined Ron, stuffing the book into his book bag.

Draco hoisted himself up. "Speaking of which, Dumbledore wanted me to talk to me about a Potions scholarship tonight."

"Wow," said Harry. "Way to be discreet and humble, you asshole."

* * *

Draco jumped when he entered the headmaster's office and everything came into view; Dumbledore was sitting at his table directly facing the door, his fists under his chin in the most childlike and expectant manner.

"Oh, Mr. Malfoy!" he exclaimed excitedly. "Please come on in!"

"Good evening, professor," Draco said as he got to the desk and sat down.

"Ah, yes, isn't it?" the old man's eyes sparkled.

And for a while neither said anything, Dumbledore happily staring at Draco and Draco feeling increasingly uncomfortable.

"Well, thank you for considering me for the Potions scholarship," Draco said at last.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Dumbledore.

"The Potions scholarship...? The whole reason you asked me to come here?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, there is no Potions scholarship. No such thing."

Draco stared. He expected Dumbledore to explain what then was the purpose of this meeting, but there was another uncomfortable silence consisting of the enthusiastic Dumbledore and confused Draco.

"Well...why am I here then?"

"That is an excellent question, and I am delighted that you asked it," said Dumbledore. "You are here because I have a mission for you."

"Sorry?"

"A mission," Dumbledore said excitedly. "A mission to break down the nasty barriers we still have among wizards and witches of diverse backgrounds. I'm sure you've also been a victim of stereotypes and nasty name calling because of your own background."

Draco shrugged. "Well, the white male privilege does kind of blow sometimes."

"Oh, you make me laugh, Mr. Malfoy," said Dumbledore. "You know what I mean. I mean your Muggle parents."

Draco did know that was what Dumbledore was talking about. Especially since the arrival of Hensen four years ago, some of the pure-blooded Slytherins had been more vocal about being rude to half-bloods and Muggle-born students.

"So I am instituting a program," Dumbledore said, "where I will pair up each pure-blood student with a Muggle-born or half-blood student. They'll have to do a series of programs together and complete the course as a graduation requirement. I call it the Program."

"That's awfully generic."

"With a capital P," Dumbledore added cheerfully.

"Starting when?" asked Draco, slightly scandalized. "I mean, this is my last year."

"Oh, this requirement will be in effect only starting next year," Dumbledore said with a smile. "But that brings me to you. I thought I should have a sort of test run before we began the Program, and who better than with the smartest Muggle-born wizard in the seventh year?"

Draco stared. He narrowed his eyes at his headmaster. "Uh...so you want me to pair up with a pure-blood and do your program? Like a lab rat?"

"Precisely like a lab rat!" said Dumbledore, very obviously thrilled. "Now, I did have a question: what's a lab rat?"

"Never mind," said Draco. "Well...I mean, that shouldn't be too difficult, sir. I could pair up with Ron or Harry-"

"-ah, no," said Dumbledore. "I am pairing you up with Miss Hermione Granger."

"What? Why?"

"Because neither Mr. Potter nor Mr. Weasley is really a culprit of this discriminatory phenomenon," Dumbledore explained, "and Miss Granger...well, she sort of is."

"You want me to spend time with Granger," said Draco, incredulous. "She won't like that."

"Oh, I've already spoken to her," said Dumbledore.

"And?"

"She didn't like it."

Well, of course.

"In fact, she threatened to tell her father and get me fired," Dumbledore added, but in a tone that would have been more fitting for if Hermione had offered him baked goods. "But I am the headmaster and her father isn't even tenured. I can't even."

"Can't even what?"

"Don't you worry, Mr. Malfoy. Anyway, I am instituting it as a requirement for both of you," said Dumbledore cheerfully. "I can't really keep you from graduating on time, but you will get a grade and it'll go on you transcript. An extra O on your transcript should help in your post-graduation job search. Wouldn't this be fun? You are very much my OTP."

"What?" asked Draco, confused. "OTP?"

"No worries about that," said Dumbledore with a grin. "Now, let's go over the rules. You will get the tasks and directions directly from me. The point is to do them together at the same time, and how well you perform those tasks is rather irrelevant as the point of the Program is to have the students realize they are not so different from one another. And, no romantic or sexual relations during the Program."

Draco scoffed. "You won't have to worry about that, sir."

"It distracts from the Program, as much as I ship you two."

"Ship us?"

"Never mind," said Dumbledore with a wide smile. "And you might have to be a bit more cautious, Mr. Malfoy. Miss Granger was actually really interested in this restriction and the repercussions of breaking the rule."

"What repercussions?"

"Program terminates immediately. And you don't get paid."

"Paid?" asked Draco, surprised. "We get paid?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Dumbledore said, "I will give you both a refund on your tuition and boarding for this year if you successfully complete the Program."

Now that was more like it. He was taking out loans from Gringotts to fund his tuition, as it was taking a toll on his Muggle parents to support him.

"Just complete the tasks, and don't get involved inappropriately with Miss Granger. Easy, right?"

"Yes, sir," said Draco. "Sounds easy."

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled.

"Are you sure?"


	2. Probably Never Will

**Chapter 2: Probably Never Will**

* * *

Hermione left Dumbledore's office feeling pretty at ease with herself. The whole idea of the Program was ludicrous and possibly illegal in her opinion, but she wasn't about to fight Dumbledore too much when he had gently reminded her that her father would be up for tenure consideration in the next year. She would simply make Malfoy crack and quit. The tuition bit was not good enough an incentive for her to spend months doing silly missions for Dumbledore, and her transcript didn't need the extra O. She couldn't however take the blame for termination of the Program. She would get Malfoy to crack by taking advantage of those male hormones that made boys so stupid around his age. She knew she was attractive, and she knew she could be flirtatious without being explicit if she wanted. It wouldn't be difficult to convince Dumbledore that it was Malfoy who made the obvious advances at her.

When she got back to the Slytherin Dungeons Blaise was sitting on a sofa, reading his Herbology textbook. He looked up when she entered and put the book down. "Hey, Granger," he said. "What did Dumbledore want?"

"Something stupid, don't worry about it," she said, too tired to explain. "I swear, he's going senile."

"He must be at least a hundred years old," said Blaise.

"Anyway..." she began. "Want to continue what we couldn't finish earlier?" She sat in the sofa directly across from him and loosened her black and green tie.

He hesitated. "Our quiz is tomorrow," he said, eying the textbook on the table.

Hermione crossed her legs, letting her skirt ride up her smooth thighs a little. His eyes immediately went from the book to her thighs.

"The quiz _is_ tomorrow," she said, as if to herself. She uncrossed her legs and watched Blaise's Adam's apple move. Hermione took a lock of her hair and began twisting it around her finger as she let her legs spread a bit. Blaise bit his lower lip as his eyes rested on what Hermione was sure was a dangerous peek at her white cotton panties under her skirt.

"Screw it," he said, pushing the book off the table. Hermione got up immediately.

"Wha-"

"That's all I needed at the moment." _Men,_ she thought. "He'll be a piece of cake," Hermione muttered to herself.

"Who?"

"Don't worry about it," she said, starting to head toward the girls' dormitories. She stopped as she was about to enter. "Hey, Blaise?"

"Yeah?" came his eager voice.

"Do you know what OTP means?"

* * *

"But headmaster, why _my_ daughter, of all pureblood Slytherins?" asked Hensen, the frustration apparent in his voice. "Why put _my_ daughter through-"

"-through what _all _students are going to be going through starting next year?" said Dumbledore calmly.

The two professors stood in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore had taken it upon himself to inform Hermione's father of what was happening. Hensen coughed and looked down at his shoes. "But out of the seventh years she's been singled out for the Program."

"I picked her because she's the smartest pure-blood student, and Mr. Malfoy the smartest Muggle-born student," Dumbledore said. "Also, she's a _bloodist_."

"That's not a real word," said Hensen under his breath.

"She needs to change her attitude," said Dumbledore sternly. "Especially for my ship."

"You have a ship?"

"The best one," said Dumbledore, delighted. Hensen opened his mouth to protest its relevance, but Dumbledore raised his hand to shut him up. "You are so whiny," said Dumbledore. "Also, stop muttering things under your breath. It's highly unprofessional."

"Now, headmaster-"

"I know, I know," said Dumbledore. "You were Prime Minister. But William, you were also my student, and now you are my employee. When it comes to education, you are welcome to make suggestions but I have the final word."

Hensen didn't say anything, and Dumbledore walked over to the bookcase. "So have you thought about names for your grandchildren?" he asked casually.

Hensen looked up and frowned in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Dumbledore shrugged. "Just something fun to think about for most people, isn't it?"

* * *

"It'll be easy enough," said Draco. Ron looked incredibly jealous, and Harry looked unsure. They were early to their Potions class and the only ones in the classroom.

"Full year's tuition and board, _and_ an O? Shit, I'd hang out with even the worst sort for that," said Ron, whose transcript was largely devoid of anything above an A for Acceptable.

"If he makes it through, that is," said Harry.

Ron turned to Harry, incredulous. "That would be a piece of cake! Dumbledore said how they do on the tasks doesn't even matter! All he has to do is give half-assed attempts with Granger and that's it."

"But she'll probably try to get out of it," said Harry. "She doesn't even like being in the same room as Muggle-borns. She'll probably try anything to ditch it."

"How?" asked Ron. "I mean, she can't really, not when Dumbledore wants this so badly and her dad's trying to get on Albie's good side to get tenure."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe annoy Draco to death so that he quits?"

Draco hadn't told the boys about the non-dating restriction, as he hadn't thought of it as significant. It did however cross his mind now, for Dumbledore _had_ said she had shown interest in that particular provision. He also doubted that Granger would try to get with him to disqualify both of them; after all, as Harry had said, she didn't even like being in the same room as Muggle-borns. It was as he was thinking it that Hermione Granger entered the room.

She didn't look surprised to see the three there. "Hey, Malfoy?" she said as curtly as she normally did. "Can I talk to you for a minute outside?"

"Sure," Draco said, getting up. Ron and Harry exchanged looks as he followed her out into the hallway.

"So I imagine Dumbledore's talked to you by now," she said.

"Yep," he said.

It was then that she smiled at him. He was so unused to it - in the near seven years he had known her, she had never smiled at him. Smirked, yes, but not smiled. It disoriented him for a moment.

"I'm really looking forward to it," she said sweetly. "It'll be a good opportunity to show that us pure-bloods can get along with Mud- I mean, Muggle-borns."

Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "That sounds about...zero percent like you."

She sighed. "Come on. We have to do this anyway, don't we? We might as well have fun doing it."

"You're _doing it_!?"

They both jumped. Blaise Zabini stood there, his Potion book in hand, looking completely aghast.

"No, no," Hermione said quickly. "It's the thing I told you about, from Dumbledore? We just have to do a...project together."

Blaise did not look convinced.

"Don't worry, Zabini," said Draco, rolling his eyes.

"No one asked you, Mudblood," spat Blaise. He reached as if to put his arm around Hermione, but she moved away.

"Go on inside, Blaise," she said, apparently annoyed. "I'll talk to you later." She turned back to Draco as Blaise went in, cursing under his breath. "So yeah, I thought maybe we can get to know each other a little before we start getting the missions?"

"Uh," Draco said. He normally was very eloquent with girls, but a smiling and sweet Hermione Granger was one that he never thought he would have to deal with. "Sure?"

"Great!" she said, flashing him yet another incredible smile. She pushed a lock of hair back behind her ear. "We can meet up tonight or tomorrow. What's good for you, Draco?"

It was when she had called him Draco - she had never called him by his first name before - that his mind found a bit of clarity. He stared at her.

"Oh, Granger," he said. He laughed softly to himself.

"Yes?" she said.

He reached for her face. She jumped but did not move away as he lifted her chin and stared down at her face. "That was cute," he said. "But we have too much of a history, Granger. You don't tempt me as girlfriend material, and probably never will."

"I don't-" Hermione began, but he gently pushed his thumb against her lips to silence her.

"Not as girlfriend material, but..." his eyes trailed down to her slightly shaking body. "Maybe you could tempt me otherwise. _Maybe_." He shrugged. "Again, probably never will, but that'd be fun to see."

Hermione glared at him as she yanked his hand away from her. "You're a boy," she said. "You all are wide open books. Boys your age have their brains down in their pants, and you're no exception, Malfoy."

"We'll see about that," Draco said just as fiercely. "I can't believe you pulled that crap before we even got our first mission, you conniving witch!"

"At least I _am_ a witch, unlike, well, ALL of your Muggle family!" spat Hermione.

"That is a _terribly _lame insult," said Draco, rolling his eyes. "So bad that it's not even insulting. And here I thought you at least had some brains between those ears! All the better, since I'm not attracted to dumb girls."

"It's not about being attracted _to me_, you idiot," Hermione was almost shouting. "Boys can't help but give in. It's wired into what I suppose you can _technically_ call brains."

"You seriously underestimate men. You're a sexist," said Draco. "Not all men-"

"-oh, shut up," said Hermione, rolling her eyes.

"If you get me disqualified by pulling this sort of shit, I am telling Dumbledore."

Hermione sneered. "As if anything _I_ do would raise flags. Good luck convincing Dumbledore _I_ came onto _you_. What are you going to tell him? That you saw some legs and lost it?"

Draco reciprocated the mocking smile. "Oh, Granger," he said. "You're going to have to show a lot more than legs if you think I'm going to ever try anything with you."


	3. In the Kitchen

**Author's Updates:**

**One, I recently finished editing Seducing Mr. Malfoy, my first fic from six years ago. **I cannot believe the amount of love I got because of it despite the high number of typos and other ridiculous mistakes I made in it. If any of you are reading this, thank you! I made minor edits throughout. There was no plot or character change; although I would do things differently now, it didn't feel right to make drastic changes. It is what it is, and honestly I was pleasantly surprised with a lot of it. If you happen to be reading/rereading and find typos, please let me know! All other fics have gone through edits to get rid of outdated A/N's (as this one eventually will, too), but I hope to soon start the process of editing SexyWitches Inc. for typos and other mistakes. That...will be interesting. Honestly speaking I don't remember most of it!

**Two, please tell a friend about this story and my other stories! **For one, I am very excited about this fic. And reviews get me going when I'm not as excited! On that note, please leave a review after you enjoy this chapter!

**Love,**

**Tina**

* * *

**Chapter 3: In the Kitchen**

* * *

Dumbledore called both of them into his office that evening to give them their first task of the Program. They didn't say a word to each other the entire way there, still too angry from the earlier argument. Being caught yelling at each other outside the Potions classroom also lost each of them House points, so tensions were high.

"Oh, my favorite students!" said Dumbledore happily as the two entered the office. "But of course, don't tell Mr. Potter," he added with a wink. "I think he might be a bit saddened to hear something like that."

The two gave Dumbledore a polite smile in response as they sat down.

"Now, your first mission," said Dumbledore. He appeared to be in very high spirits. "You are going to be up at 5AM tomorrow morning and help the house elves with breakfast!"

Draco was annoyed at having to wake up so early, but Hermione looked absolutely disgusted.

"You have got to be kidding," she said. "With all due respect, professor - you want us to work like _house elves_?"

Dumbledore crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Well, Miss Granger, you do realize they prepare your food, clean the castle, take care of your dormitory room-"

"-because they are _house elves_, yes," said Hermione. "Not _wizards_, not _witches_, and not even _humans_."

"That sounds incredibly offensive although technically true," said Draco, amused.

Dumbledore did a theatrical sigh. "Do you not even feel a little sorry for them, Miss Granger?"

"Why would I, sir?" asked Hermione, confused. "They are house elves. They like work, and they do it."

"Well..." said Draco, and Dumbledore's eyes lit up.

"This is exactly it," said Dumbledore. "Muggle-born students tend to be more sympathetic to house elves. You can discuss your differing view points on this issue as you work together."

Hermione looked extremely displeased but nodded.

"One more thing, sir," Draco said. "I'd like to discuss the no dating or sexual relations restriction."

Hermione did an almost audible groan, and Dumbledore's face lit up at once. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

"What if one party were to be clearly more responsible for a violation? Surely it isn't fair to punish both parties?"

Dumbledore clasped his fingers together. He gave the two a wide smile. "It takes two to tango, Mr. Malfoy."

"But what if I'm just there," Draco continued, "and she attacks me? For the purpose of terminating the Program?" Hermione scoffed loudly.

"I mean, surely she wouldn't do that when there's a lot on the line," said Dumbledore. He gave a meaningful look to Hermione, who shrank in her chair. "If Dramione does happen, you can come to me and I will hear your case out. I'll decide what's the fairest way to handle it then. But isn't that a lot of work? Just stay appropriate with one another."

"Did you say..._Dramione?_" said Hermione, aghast.

Draco looked just as horrified. "With all due respect, professor...please...don't."

* * *

As much as he enjoyed staying up late, Draco knew he'd have to call it an early night if he had to wake up so early. He reluctantly headed to the Gryffindor dormitories. When he gave the Fat Lady the password and entered he found Ginny Weasley sitting by the fire, playing with her pygmy puff.

"Hullo," she said when she saw him come in. "How's it going?"

"Good," he said. "Good night."

He knew that he could be quite pompous and presumptuous, but he thought he was completely right in thinking that Ginny Weasley had a crush on him. It felt a bit too weird for him to flirt with her, however, considering his friendship with Ron. He therefore was careful not to seem too friendly to her recently.

"Wait, Draco," called Ginny. "Can we talk?"

_Oh dear,_ he thought to himself, stopping in his tracks.

"Sure," he said slowly, turning. He walked over to the fireplace and sat down, making sure to leave enough space between them.

Ginny hesitated, and for a second Draco reflected on how attractive she was. He still could not imagine himself thinking of her as anything other than a little sister figure, but objectively speaking, she really was attractive. Perhaps he could tell her that while gently letting her down.

"This is difficult," she began. "But I felt maybe I can speak to you...and it _is_ weird that I'm telling you this when you guys are best mates." She studied his expression. "I take it you've already guessed."

He nodded.

"But in a way, the fact that you are best mates why I wanted to speak to you," she continued.

He cocked his head in a bit of confusion but nodded anyway. "Right."

"And it's not like I could really talk to Ron about this."

"Right," he said. "That would be difficult."

"And you know him the best, so I wanted to talk to you."

He began to nod and then stopped. "Sorry?"

She stared. "What?"

Draco narrowed his eyes at her. "You wanted to talk to me _because_ I know Ron the best?"

"What?" she said. "I meant I wanted to talk to you because you know Harry the best."

"What, Harry?" he said. "Why are we talking about Harry all of a sudden?"

Ginny frowned. "All of a sudden? That's what we've been talking about all along!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he said. "Step back a minute. Use proper nouns. So Harry and I are best mates, along with Ron."

"Right," Ginny said. "And I fancy Harry."

Draco gaped. "WHAT!?"

She frowned again. "What did you think I was saying this whole time?"

"I-I thought," Draco stammered uncharacteristically. "Never mind. So...you fancy Harry."

"Yes."

He frowned. "_Why_?"

* * *

Hermione got up at 4:30AM so she could get ready. As much as she hated the guy, she refused to be seen unkempt. Also she planned on getting him to break the rule on sexual contact soon so that she could get out of the Program. She of course wouldn't actually kiss him or anything like that - she shuddered at the thought - but she would tease him enough for him to make an advance at her. Spending months doing chores with him would be incredibly annoying, but seeing him lose to his teenage boy instincts would be quick and even satisfying.

She put on her usual school uniform and tied her hair into a pony tail. It still irritated her to no end that she had to work with house elves, but at least Malfoy would have to do it, too. Perhaps he was used to that sort of labor, having grown up in a Muggle household.

Hermione arrived at the kitchens a few minutes after five. Draco Malfoy was standing at the door talking with an old, awfully wrinkled elf.

"Morning, Granger," he said when she cleared her throat to signal her arrival.

"Morning," she said stiffly. The elf bowed down deeply and led them in.

The kitchen was already busy with the food preparation for the day. On one side little elves bustled about baking muffins while fresh fruit peeled themselves, and by the stove there were hundreds of pans with sausages rolling around. Should be easy with magic, Hermione thought.

"Now, Miss and Master," said the old elf who had led them in. "Professor Dumbledore said you mustn't use any magic while helping us this morning." He looked very apologetic.

While Hermione looked aghast and at loss for words, Draco rolled up his sleeves. "Well, where to start?"

The two were set to peel some potatoes for hash browns, sitting on little wooden blocks that the elves used as chairs. It seemed absolutely ridiculous, as right next to them two elves were peeling them with magic at ten times their speed.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably on her wooden block. She was near-squatting, inadvertently revealing her striped black and pink panties under her skirt.

"I'm assuming you're showing me your underwear on purpose," said Draco Malfoy with a smirk, although his eyes were on the potato he was peeling.

"Piss off, Malfoy," she spat. She adjusted her school skirt, but it was pretty hopeless to want much coverage in their sitting positions.

"I don't trust girls who show me their underwear," he said slowly. "Especially multi-colored panties."

"You shouldn't," sneered Hermione. "And this wasn't even on purpose. You really think you can handle being completely appropriate when I start acting with purpose?"

"Acting with purpose, as in give me a strip tease everyday? That should count as acting first if we were to get to Dumbledore about this, don't you think?" he said. "But show me your entire drawer of panties, see if I do anything. Provoke me all you want. Sounds like a winning game for me, no? If you're the one who's going to keep flashing your panties at me and we still finish the Program?"

"Not if you crack," she said.

"I won't," he said confidently. "Besides, who's to say _you_ won't crack first? Maybe you'll come onto me first."

"Yeah, right," she said sarcastically.

Suddenly, Draco dropped his knife to the floor. When she looked up from her own in response, she saw him staring intently at her, with a rather serious look on his face. His head was slightly cocked to the side, and he was lightly biting on his lower lip. He stared as if transfixed.

"Wh-what..." She had difficulty forming a sentence. She felt like he was seeing her stark naked.

"You'll definitely crack first," he said at last, breaking the gaze and picking up his knife. "I can provoke you just as well. If not better."

"Don't be presumptuous," she managed to say. "You surprised me, that's all. Besides, wouldn't that be considered making the first move to Dumbledore?"

"Staring at you?" laughed Draco. "Please, Granger. You are showing me your underwear and I haven't even budged."

This was not entirely true. He was simply skilled. Noticing her panties under her skirt had surprised and excited him. Perhaps it was that he had never seen her in a particularly vulnerable position before. Perhaps it was because he knew that to an extent, she was _trying_ to excite him. He could picture it; Hermione Granger flaunting her precious pure-blood body, him going in for a kiss or a feel, and her blasting him with a hex before running off to Dumbledore. All with an evil laugh.

That was definitely not going to happen. He'd enjoy the show, finish the Program, and leave with the Galleons and the grade.

And after the Program was over?

Well, he thought, amused. That might be a whole another unexpected story.


	4. Your Reputation Precedes You

**Chapter 4: Your Reputation Precedes You**

* * *

Breakfast was an interesting experience for Hermione. Having seen the food be prepared, she became strangely more interested in everything on the table. As she bit into a hash brown she thought about the exchange from earlier. A weird feeling nagged her as she remembered the look he had given her. It had made her so embarrassed for some reason, and she was upset that she had responded so dumbfounded to it.

She put her fork down and got up. She wasn't going to get any food in.

"Morning," said Blaise Zabini as he caught her exiting the Great Hall. "You're up early today."

"Yeah," she said with an exaggerated yawn. They walked around the corner to a deserted hallway. She glanced at him and noticed that he looked quite serious. "Everything all right?"

"I wanted to talk about...you and me," Blaise said.

Whoa. Not what she had been expecting this early.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

He turned to face her. "We've been friends for six years and fooling around for a bit. I need to figure out what we are."

"What do you mean?" she said again, although she knew what he meant. It threw her off that he wanted to label their relationship.

"Look," he said darkly. "Seeing you talk to Malfoy made me think. I like messing around with you, and it's been fun, but I don't know if I want to see you messing around with other blokes."

"You're afraid I'll mess around with _Malfoy_?" asked Hermione incredulously.

He laughed. "No, of course not. But seeing you talking to him just made me think things. Because it was a _him_, I guess. I can't imagine you getting with another bloke."

"I haven't even kissed another boy than you, Blaise," she said quietly. "Ever."

He looked relieved, and she laughed. "You like that?"

"I don't dislike that," said Blaise with a grin. "And I'm interested in keeping it that way, if you are."

She hesitated.

He was asking her to be his girlfriend, and that scared her. She couldn't imagine another pure-blood Slytherin boy more fit for her than Blaise; although there were boys from better families, they had been friends for so long. He understood her and her family, and of course, he was hands down the most attractive boy in Slytherin. She enjoyed the physical aspects of the unnamed relationship they had continued for some time now. What was the hesitation, really?

"You can think about it," Blaise said, studying her expression. "I'm okay with the way things are now, too. But if you're open to more, I wanted to tell you that I'm in."

Hermione nodded. "I'll think about it," she said. "Until then..." she reached for his face and gave him a soft, tender kiss on the lips. He soon relaxed and kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. It felt nice to have his body so close to hers.

Then, as Blaise gently sucked on her lower lip, an image flashed in her brain. It was the look that Draco had given her in the kitchen earlier again, and for a split second she imagined that it was Draco Malfoy kissing her.

"Whoa," she said, pulling away from Blaise.

"What's wrong?" asked Blaise, surprised from the abrupt break but not letting go of her.

"Um, nothing," she said. "I need to go get ready for classes."

"Okay," said Blaise with a grin, and his hands traveled down and gave her bum a playful squeeze.

"Hey!" she laughed, breaking away from him. "I'll see you later."

"Yes," he said. "Think about it, okay?"

"I will," she said.

Her face felt hot. She wasn't sure if she were more embarrassed by the look Draco had given her or the fact that it had rattled her so much. Either way, he was right; he could probably provoke her just as well, if not better, than she would provoke him.

She would just have to throw the first punch and get it over with quickly.

* * *

Draco thought he had enough on his hands with the Program and also Granger trying to sabotage it, but now he had Ginny Weasley who seemed to think he had taken on the role of playing matchmaker for her and Harry.

"Just figure out if he does, you know, see me as a girl."

"You _are_ a girl," Draco droned, although he knew exactly what she meant. "How do you even expect me to bring this up in casual conversation?"

The two were in the Gryffindor common room again, their homework sprawled across the table while Ron and Harry were out serving detention for a prank they pulled on Professor Sprout.

"I don't know," said Ginny. "Maybe you can be like,_ so you know, you ever notice that hot bod on Ginny Weasley_?"

"Your impression of me is despicable," he told her, inking his quill.

"_I wonder what it'd be like to lay her_," Ginny continued in what she seemed to think was a low manly voice. "_I bet she's tight._"

Draco looked up from his parchment and stared at her in horror. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Ginny giggled and shrugged. "Come on, Draco," she said. "Find out for me what kind of things Harry finds sexy."

* * *

"So, what kind of things does Draco Malfoy find sexy?" Hermione Granger asked, putting down her mug of pumpkin tea. It was a rather slow night at the Three Broomsticks, and she felt comfortable carrying on the interrogation there.

Harry Potter sat there, blinking.

"You are joking," he said at last.

She gave him what she thought was an innocent shrug. "Just curious."

"That's not the sort of thing that people ask out of curiosity," he said, much to her annoyance. "You've been nasty to him, so I can only imagine why you would want that information."

He had come to the Three Broomsticks alone to get a drink and read by himself, so he was irritated to begin with that Hermione Granger appeared out of nowhere and insisted on sitting with him. And now she was asking about his best mate. It raised all the red flags.

"You are awful at being subtle," he continued, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

"That sort of accusation implies that you know why I would like that sort of information," Hermione said with a smirk.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Normally if a girl were to ask what my best mate found sexy, I would assume she fancied him."

"And?" she said expectantly.

"But I need to add in the fact that you are evil."

Hermione gave him a look. "I am not evil."

"So are you saying you fancy Draco?" said Harry incredulously.

That Harry had not mentioned the restrictions for the Program yet was incredibly enlightening to Hermione. This meant that for some reason, Malfoy had not told Potter about it. Might as well run with it to get some information, she thought to herself with a smirk. She looked down at her mug, as if embarrassed.

"I...I don't know," she said. "I've spent a bit of time with him now and...I don't know, I was just curious, that's all." She looked up. Harry Potter was gaping at her. Perfect.

"I am only a girl, too, you know," she said shyly.

* * *

"Malfoy?" came Hermione Granger's rather urgent voice.

Draco was heading to the showers after his daily workout with his broom over his shoulder. _Oh, what now_, he thought, looking around.

"Hello?" he called. "Where are you?"

"Right over here!" came her voice from behind the audience benches.

"You better not be pulling something here," Draco called, absolutely sure that she was pulling something here.

"I am not!" called Hermione, although she was most definitely pulling something here.

He finally got to the benches and peered behind them. "What's wro- _oh._"

There stood Hermione Granger, topless and her arms thrown across her chest. She was otherwise fully dressed in her Slytherin uniform. She was blushing and apparently trying very hard to cover herself. Draco turned his back on her immediately, flustered.

"What's going on?" he called, looking up at the darkening sky. His ears felt hot.

"I was taking a walk outside and Peeves pulled this on me," she called. "I didn't know he could do that!"

The truth was that Peeves couldn't. _He's into public partial nudity, _Harry Potter had confided in her. Apparently Draco was into finding a partially nude girl in this sort of vulnerable state. _Can't resist it,_ Harry had said.

Her school blouse, tie, and bra were in fact in her bag, but she obviously felt vulnerable and the blush was quite real. She did however have her wand tucked at the hem of her skirt, ready to hex him if things got out of hand.

Draco put down his broom and opened his bag. He pulled out his school robe. "Here," he said, throwing it over his shoulder at her. "Put this on."

Grumbling under her breath, she put his robe on. She had at least expected him to _stare_ longer. "Okay," she said once she was covered.

"You definitely did this on purpose, Granger," said Draco, turning around and sounding very irritated.

"Oh, please," she said sarcastically, reaching for her bag on the grass. In doing so the front of the robe slipped open a little, and Draco caught a glimpse of her skin in the space between her breasts. Again he turned his back on her immediately.

"Oh, don't be such a prude, Malfoy," Hermione called, having noticed what had caused his turn. "Your reputation precedes you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know you've been around."

Draco scoffed, although he knew well that she was simply trying to irk him. "You're misinformed, Granger. And I didn't take you to be the gossipy kind."

"I am not," she said. "But I hear things."

"And what exactly did you hear?"

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. She stood there with her bag on her shoulders and with her arms crossed. The robe was a bit large on her, but it did its job in covering her securely.

"I hear that you are quite the player. The face of the Three Gryffindor Bachelors."

"Is the Three Gryffindor Bachelors an actual thing?" Draco said, amused. "Tell me, if I am the face, what are Ron and Harry?"

"That's beside the point," she said crossly. "Either way, don't play prude with me. I know you've seen and done a lot."

He stared at her.

"What?" she said defensively as the seconds ticked by. He kept staring, all with a slight smirk. He took a step toward her, and she took an instinctive step back.

"What," he echoed. "Didn't you say to not play prude with you?"

Her heart began to pound faster. _It's fear_, she told herself. And maybe embarrassment. Although she had fastened the robe around her body she again felt quite naked under his eyes.

"So my reputation precedes me," he mused. "So I've seen and done a lot..." He took another step forward. "And you are standing there, topless under my robes. I could easily overpower you, and apparently that's what you want. For me to yank that robe away."

"Stop it," she said, her cheeks burning. She took another step back.

"Stop what?" he asked. But he stopped anyway and put his hands in his pockets. He stared down at her, a ghost of a smile at his lips. He leaned forward and she shrank, her heart beating like mad. He smirked and lowered his voice to a whisper:

"Don't play with fire if you're scared of getting burnt, Granger."


	5. Then Prove It

**A/N: **I've been updating only as I had at least one chapter pre-written, but I am blazing through this because I am enjoying it. Things are heating up. Thanks for the reviews!

* * *

**Chapter 5: Then Prove It  
**

* * *

Draco woke up to an owl pecking at his window.

"Tell that beastly thing to _shut the hell up_," groaned Ron from his bed. Draco stretched and stumbled out of his own and went to open the window. A small grey owl tooted happily as he reached for the message tied to its leg.

_Gone to a con this week. Your next mission for the Program is to find and destroy a Horcrux together. - A. Dumbledore  
_

Draco narrowed his eyes. Dumbledore could not be serious about this. He turned the note over.

_Just kidding! Your mission is to work the Library circulation desk for three hours this evening together. Please let Miss Granger know, and have fun!_

The owl tooted again and began coughing. Draco stepped back, alarmed. After gagging a little in front of the confused and slightly terrified Draco, the owl spat out a little piece of paper. It was wet and crumpled, but it looked like something was written on it. Draco reached for his quill nearby and carefully poked at the glob to open it up so he could read the message:

_But not too much fun!_

The image of Dumbledore forcing the grey owl to eat a piece of paper for that effect was a bit too much for Draco to handle.

* * *

Draco and Harry were by the lake practicing their Transfiguration spells turning worms into pencils when Ginny walked by with a group of other sixth year girls, all giggling to themselves. Harry waved at her nonchalantly, and Ginny waved back before giving Draco a meaningful look. Harry did not seem to notice and went on poking the worms with his wand.

"Say," Draco said, giving up. "What do you think about Ginny?"

"What about her?" said Harry, not looking up from the writhing worm that began to change color.

"Oh, you know," Draco said. "As a girl."

Harry looked up and stared. "You mean, like, to ask out?"

"Uh, sure," Draco replied.

Harry gave his friend a stern look. "Well...you fancy her?"

"No, no," said Draco quickly. "Just wondering out loud."

"Don't be dumb, Draco," said Harry, shaking his head. "No one at this school could really survive Ron when his baby sister starts dating."

Draco narrowed his eyes at him. "You're kidding."

Harry looked up from his now pointy worm. "What?"

"You think Ginny hasn't started dating?"

It was Harry's turn to narrow his eyes at his best mate. "She's dated? Boys?"

"Of course," laughed Draco. "And loads. She's gone steady with that sixth year Ravenclaw, and she went on few dates with Dean-"

"-SHE DID WHAT?"

Draco jumped and dropped his worm, which had formed only the eraser part of the pencil he had meant to transfigure it to.

"Dean Thomas? Our Dean?"

"Yes?" said Draco, thoroughly confused. "You didn't know?"

"No," said Harry. He looked over at Ginny, who now was sitting under a tree with two other girls, laughing about something. "She's dated...?"

He stared at Harry for a minute and decided he had done enough for the day.

"Oh, speaking of which," said Harry, as if waking up from a dream. "Granger cornered me the other day at Three Broomsticks and asked me about you."

Draco raised a brow. "Oh?"

"Yeah. She asked me what you found sexy."

_That conniving witch._

"And what did you tell her?"

Harry snickered. "I didn't know what she was up to, so I just told her that you are into partial public nudity that looks like an accident," he said. "I thought that was specific and ridiculous enough for her to laugh off, but it looked like she bought it."

"Oh, she certainly did," Draco muttered.

* * *

Blaise pushed Hermione roughly up against the wall and attacked her lips with his own. She trembled under his force but also welcomed his advances as his hands explored her body. She felt his groin push against her crotch area and felt her entire body heat up as his lips moved to her neck. His hand quickly undid her tie and the top few buttons of her blouse, exposing her cleavage. He however pushed her shirt to the side and began kissing her collarbone, making her moan.

His hand traveled up her thigh and under her skirt. She jolted as his fingers pushed against the soft fabric of her panties.

"Keep going," she breathed, and he obliged, rubbing her there while his other hand grabbed her left breast. They were in the privacy of her bedroom and she felt fairly safe letting go of her inhibitions. She tilt her head back as his fingers moved faster and with more force, and soon felt herself get wet to his touches. His hand reached the hem of her panties and slid in, and she shivered as his finger began to make its way inside her.

There came a knock.

"Ignore it," Hermione hissed, and Blaise smirked as he kissed her, his hand still moving.

There came more knocks.

Blaise stopped, and Hermione groaned. "Hold on," she called, and gestured the grinning Blaise to hide. He pulled his hands away from her and went to hide himself behind the curtains. She readjusted her clothes and went to unlock the door.

"Yes?" she said, opening it.

Pansy Parkinson stood, looking perhaps even more irritated than Hermione looked. "Malfoy is here," she said. "He says you need to go with him."

Hermione frowned. "What?"

"I don't know," Pansy said. "He said it was for some sort of program and he forgot to tell you. And you have to go _now_. Like you're apparently already late."

Hermione groaned again, and Pansy eyed her suspiciously.

"Why are you so flushed? And sweaty?"

"Never mind," Hermione said. "Give me a second-"

"He said I can't let you do that, that you need to come _now_."

"Since when did you take orders from Malfoy?" said Hermione, annoyed. But she followed Pansy out, leaving Blaise confused and probably angry behind her curtains.

* * *

Draco was waiting outside the Slytherin dungeons, and Hermione was incredibly peeved to see he did _not_ seem to be in much of a hurry.

"What's the big deal?" she spat.

"Dumbledore gave us our second task, and it was supposed to start fifteen minutes ago."

She groaned. "Sounds like you were supposed to tell me this ahead of time."

"I...forgot," he said truthfully. "Why are you so flushed? And sweaty?"

"Don't worry about it," she said crossly. It felt incredibly weird that just moments ago she was with Blaise, and now she stood in front of Draco Malfoy as if nothing had happened. Her panties were still very wet and every step she took reminded her of it.

"You look like you've been getting down," he laughed.

He was clearly joking, but lack of response from her made him do a double take. "Wait, seriously?"

"Of course not. Can we just go?" she hissed.

* * *

The entire walk down to the library was uncomfortable for her. She wasn't sure if she felt hot just because of her romp around with Blaise or if it was a combination of that and being angry at Draco Malfoy. They both got an earful from Madam Pince when they got there for being late and soon got seated at the circulation desk.

"You definitely were snogging someone," Draco said snidely once Madam Pince was well out of earshot. "Your face gives it away."

"Piss off, Malfoy," she said between gritted teeth.

"Who was it? Zabini?"

She ignored him. A a third year came by to check out a book and she helped him with it, and soon they were alone again.

"What do you even see in that bloke?" Draco continued. "Other than he's handsome, that is."

"Sounds like _you_ want to snog him," Hermione said sarcastically.

Draco stretched. "Are you trying to make me jealous so I might come onto you? At least showing me your tits was a bit original."

"I DID NOT-" she caught herself and lowered her voice. "I did not show them to you," she said in a whisper, her face flushing again.

"You're right, Granger," Draco droned. "Also, I guess you got down with Zabini _before_ the Program, too."

"That's my personal life and none of your business," Hermione said coldly.

"Is he even any good?"

_Based on how wet I am right now, yes,_ she thought to herself, rolling her eyes.

"Because," he continued without waiting for a response. "I mean, I'm rather good."

She shot him a glare. "And _that _would be coming on to me, enough to terminate the Project."

He shrugged. "I only said I'm good, not that I was offering." He smirked. "You pure-bloods are so entitled. So tell me, I did have Parkinson walk in on you, didn't I?"

"I told you no," she lied.

"Oh, please don't tell me I interrupted you before you _got there_," he said. "Although with Zabini, maybe you weren't really ever getting there anytime soon and I did you a favor by showing you this beautiful face of mine. Instant release."

It wasn't even that funny, and she absolutely hated herself for this, but she let out a laugh. It wasn't even the mocking kind she was accustomed to giving him, but a genuine laugh. It was short, but they both heard it.

"I was right!" he exclaimed, turning a few heads in the library.

"Piss off, Malfoy," she said, shaking her head.

He was clearly having a ball. "Did you walk here all hot and bothered?" he asked playfully. "You want me to finish the job, don't you? Eh, Granger? Would you like to at least hold my arm?" Then he rolled up his sleeve on one arm and did an exaggerated flex.

"Stop it," she said again, but she was clearly laughing and not sounding as hostile as she had meant to sound.

"I can't believe how right I've been," he mused. "And you're sitting there probably with your knickers all wet."

"I am not," she lied again.

He gave her a look. He was a diehard Gryffindor, but he could look conniving if he wanted to.

"Then prove it."


	6. Lose It

**Chapter 6: Lose It**

* * *

"Wh-what?" muttered Hermione, her face red at once. "I will do no such thing."

He shrugged. "Because you _are_ wet. And _dying_ for release."

"You're as gross as you are stupid and low class," she said. "Think what you want, but you just proved to me that you are as much the stereotypically dumb and hormones-driven boy as any."

"When were you really going to begin trying to get me to come onto you?" mused Draco. "I am practically offering for you to sit on my lap right now and you're refusing. Maybe I'll _lose it_, like you so like to say, once you get on up here."

"Sitting on laps isn't exactly subtle now, is it?" she spat back.

But the image was already ingrained in her head. She couldn't kick it. As she imagined sitting on his lap with only the already wet fabric of her panties and his pants between them, she felt flustered all over again. She shifted in her seat and even worried that she might leave a mark on the fabric on her seat.

"Come on, now," he said with a smirk, patting his left thigh. "Sit right here and I can check."

"You're gross," she said, but in her head she was already rubbing herself against his thigh. What the hell was wrong with her?

"I know girls like you," said Draco. "And Muggle or witch, all the same. Just this past summer there were these Muggle girls in my neighborhood talking the big talk, but once it comes down to it, they back down."

"And I know guys like you," said Hermione crossly.

He looked a bit exasperated and annoyed. "You keep saying things like that, but where are you getting any of that from? Do people think I'm a whore around here?"

She thought about it. She had definitely heard the girls say that they found him the most attractive out of the three Gryffindor boys that went around pulling ridiculous pranks, but she supposed not many girls really spoke of him doing much more than flirting with them.

It was then that Blaise entered the library. She felt a wave of guilt come over her for reason she could really put into words. He came over to the circulation desk.

"What are you doing?" he asked rather darkly.

"It's the thing for Dumbledore," she said apologetically as Draco looked on with the least interested facial expression.

"What thing for Dumbledore," said Blaise, his frustration apparent. "And why with this idiot?"

"I'm right here, Zabini," said Draco crossly.

Hermione sighed. "I'm taking a break," she told Draco, getting up.

"You could try being a little more subtle than that," Draco snickered.

"What is he talking about?" asked Blaise, scowling.

"Nothing, he's just being a prick," she said. She went around the circulation desk and took Blaise's hand. "Come on."

* * *

She led him to a secluded area in the library between tall stacks. She meant to explain to Blaise about the Program and to assure him that everything was fine, but perhaps it was the tension that had built up inside her the past hour or so. She not-so-subtly pushed herself up against him.

"Whoa," Blaise said as she stuck a leg between his legs and began rubbing herself against his thigh.

"We didn't finish what we started," she managed to say, but that was not entirely it. She was replaying the image that had plagued her moments ago - the image involving that Malfoy, not Blaise. She tried to push that away as she wrapped her arms around Blaise's neck and kissed him again, her tongue as hungry as ever. Meanwhile the movements with her hips against his thigh continued, and he soon let his hands fall to her ass and slightly bent his leg, allowing for much more effective excitement of that particular bundle of nerves that were driving her insane.

"Mmm," she moaned as she got close and their kiss became deeper. He was now moving his leg to the rhythm of her hips, and she knew that she was getting his trouser at least a little stained. The thought turned her on as they kept moving.

* * *

He wasn't sure what had come over him. Draco had made it seem like he thought Granger and Zabini had gone to mess around in the stacks, but it also was a bit hard for him to imagine. She had laughed at his crude jokes. In some universe we would even call that flirting.

Whatever had come over him led him to leave his post at the circulation desk and to head in the direction the two Slytherins had headed to moments ago.

He found them rather quickly.

Granger had her arms around Zabini's neck, her head resting on his shoulder as she rubbed herself up against him with her eyes closed. Her skirt riding up by her lifted thigh and Zabini's hands on her, she looked completely lost in the rhythmic movements.

If her knickers weren't wet before, they certainly were now.

Draco stood there watching for a moment, transfixed. Then, he abruptly turned and nearly ran back to the circulation desk. His ears felt hot.

Although not to the extent that Granger seemed to think, he had definitely seen and done more.

But seeing Granger like that stirred something in him that definitely was not there before.

* * *

"Oh!"

At one particularly strong push up against her soaking wet panties, Hermione's entire body shook before she collapsed onto Blaise. He gave her ass another squeeze with his hands and gave it a light slap, making her jump a little.

Dry humping in the stacks wasn't really her plan, but a lot of things happen unexpectedly.

"I should really get back," she said apologetically.

"Right," Blaise muttered. "What's...what's this thing you are doing for Dumbledore with Malfoy?"

"I just have to do a series of dumb tasks with him, but I'm working on ending it soon," she explained. "Some sort of a pure-blood and Muggle-born integration program, and we're his testing subjects. And for _months_."

"How were you planning on ending it soon?" Blaise asked.

She sighed. "There's a no-dating, no sexual contact provision," she said.

"You're going to _date _Malfoy?" asked Blaise, incredulous. "And have _sexual contacts_?"

"No, of course not," she said quickly. "I just thought I could mess with him enough and let his man parts take over. He won't last long. He'll make a pass at me, and I'll tell Dumbledore. Done."

Blaise stared. "Would he even believe you if you...flirted with him or something?"

"Oh, he already knows what I'm trying to do," said Hermione.

"What? Then how would it even work?" Blaise looked at her as if she were crazy. "I don't like this, Hermione. Just tell Dumbledore you quit."

"I can't," said Hermione bitterly. "That's another long story. But don't worry, he won't last long before he cracks and the Program is over through no fault of _my_ own." She grinned and put her hand on Blaise's cheek. "No worries."

To her surprise, he pulled her hand away from him. "Remember what we talked about? About just there being you and me?"

"Yes?" Hermione said softly. "I mean, I guess we can do that. I mean, that's how we've been, and I guess...I guess this is my answer to your question from back then. Sure. And fall break is coming up, and we can-"

"Hold on, hold on," he said. "Look. Let's talk after you get this thing with Malfoy out of the way."

She stared at him, unbelieving. "You can't be serious," she said. "You think _Malfoy_ is a threat?"

"He is, if you are planning on teasing him to get him to make a pass at you! And he's the one who got me thinking, to begin with."

"So you want me to wait the Program out? Just go through with it?"

"That would mean you spending lots of time with the Mudblood, so of course not," said Blaise bitterly. "However this thing ends, I don't think I could really rest easy."

"That shows a lot of trust on your part," said Hermione sarcastically. "So why are you even telling me this? You want to get with other girls while I go through this with Malfoy?"

"No, of course not," said Blaise. "Just...let's talk after it's over."

And with that he walked off, leaving her standing alone in the stacks.

* * *

When Hermione got back to the circulation desk, Draco was reading. The library was largely empty and they had a little under two hours left of their shift.

"He's gone," she muttered as she took her seat.

"Mhm," said Draco, who had seen Blaise walk out after giving Draco a glare.

They set in silence for a while. She thought he might continue with the playful and highly inappropriate banter as before and accuse her - again, correctly - that she was messing around with Zabini, but he was quiet, leafing through a large book.

"Anything happen while I was gone?" she asked just to break the silence.

"Nope."

Silence again.

She felt he was being aloof, when in fact he had found himself unable to look at her. He wasn't sure if he really could control himself he took a good look at her and she was even a bit disheveled or flushed from the earlier dry humping session with Zabini. It wasn't even very explicit a scene, but it was burned into Draco's brain and refused to budge.

As for her, she was frustrated. Whatever happened, it seemed like Blaise was not going to let up being uneasy and aggressive about the whole Draco Malfoy situation for a while. He would be angry about it for the full length of the Program, but it's not like she was having much luck with her previous plan of getting Draco to come onto her enough for it to be a clearly inappropriate advance. Maybe she'd have to be a little more progressive about it, she thought. After all, only one instance had been intentional so far, and she was getting increasingly convinced that Potter had messed with her. What made Draco Malfoy tick?

And in pondering this, she wondered if her interest in the matter was purely about ending the Program quickly so she could get on clear terms with Blaise. Maybe Malfoy stirred in her that competitive streak. Perhaps she would simply enjoy knowing that she flustered him...as much as he had oh so clearly had by mere stares and few words.

"Malfoy," she said. Draco did the smallest jolt which she did not notice. "Why are you so quiet all of a sudden?" she asked, getting braver by the second.

He didn't say anything. She looked around the library. It was largely empty except for few students at the tables far away. She cleared her throat.

"Is the offer still open?"

He looked up from his book and not directly at her. "What offer?" he asked slowly.

She smirked.

"To sit on your lap and see if you'll lose it."


	7. Silver Platter

**Chapter 7: Silver Platter**

* * *

Draco got up at once and looked away from her. "Very funny, Granger."

"Come on," purred Hermione, starting to feel that she was finally getting the upper hand. "What happened to that Gryffindor bravery?"

"You don't know what you're asking," said Draco, fumbling for his wand so he could leave. Hermione Granger setting up a partially nude "accidental" scene was one thing. Her really coming onto him, mere minutes after he had seen her with Zabini, was at a whole another level of twisted seduction.

"But maybe I do," she said. "Maybe I'm playing with fire because I want to get burnt."

He had been amused and surprised when she had accused him of having a reputation. He had had girlfriends, sure, but a reputation for getting around? The closest thing was perhaps the one drunk hookup the previous year with Ravenclaw's Selena Ahn. He had jokingly played such person when Granger had accused him of it that day in the Quidditch field, but as with most boys his age, he was mostly talk.

Well...it seemed like Zabini was significantly more action than talk. But a rarity, that Zabini was. Draco was but one of the three Gryffindor pranksters, and being "the face" of the three, even if at all true, didn't really mean or say much. Where had she even heard those things? Blaise Zabini, on the other hand, was something else. He was very attractive. And pure-blood. Of course he could get Granger.

What the hell was he thinking? Why did he even care? Draco shook his head of such thoughts, ignored what he was certain were Hermione Granger's smirks, and hurriedly left the library.

* * *

"No, no, absolutely not, no way, sir."

Dumbledore clasped his fingers together and looked up at Hensen, who was angrily pacing the office. "Now, William..."

"I will _not_ have that filthy Mud- I mean, that _boy_ in my household."

Dumbledore flicked his wand, and from one of the drawers a roll of parchment jumped out. It flew to Dumbledore's open hand. "Now, William," Dumbledore said, adjusting his spectacles. "_The students shall spend the four-day fall break in the home of either of their families._ It says so right here in the Program curriculum."

"Which _you_ wrote."

Dumbledore stared. "Did I stutter?"

Hensen groaned. "Sir, I will not have him over. No. Also, Matilda won't have it."

"I can talk to her," said Dumbledore, rolling up the parchment carefully.

"Why _my_ house?"

"Would you rather have Hermione go stay at Mr. Malfoy's house?"

"You mean with the Muggles!?" cried Hensen. "Of course not!"

"That's what I thought," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "It's settled then. I'll tell them."

* * *

"No, no, absolutely not, no way, sir." Hermione sounded a bit _too_ much like her father did. "My father would _not_ have that."

Draco didn't say anything. They hadn't spoken since the night in the library, partly because Draco had avoided her like the Plague. The image of her offering to sit on his lap kept him up at night for a while, and the fact that it wasn't made up was driving him insane.

"I already talked to Professor Hensen," Dumbledore said. "It's taken care of. And Mr. Malfoy, you didn't have fall break plans, did you?"

"Actually my parents and I were going to go visit my-"

"Excellent," said Dumbledore happily. "Now hurry along now, I don't want you to miss your next class!"

Upset for different reasons, the students reluctantly got up. As they were about to leave, however Dumbledore called after them.

"One more thing," he said. "I trust no inappropriateness has taken place between the two of you?"

Draco felt a knot in his stomach. That blasted image again.

"No, sir," came Hermione Granger's very indifferent voice.

"Oh," said Dumbledore, and Draco could have sworn he sounded disappointed.

* * *

"I guess it's a sort of community service."

Draco stopped walking and turned to Hermione. It was the first time in days that he had even looked at her straight. "Excuse me?" he said.

Hermione shrugged. "Oh, you know," she said. "You'll get to see a real wizarding family for once. Get a sense of some normativity."

He rolled his eyes. _His_ family would think Hermione's was a group of freaks.

"How easy do you have it, though, with a Muggle family?" Hermione sighed loudly.

Draco stared at her, incredulous. Was she serious? "You think it's _easy_ coming from a Muggle family?"

"I mean, they are Muggles. They couldn't possibly have expectations for you."

In terms of how he did at Hogwarts, he supposed she was right. His family wouldn't know from an O for Outstanding to T for Troll, and could not care less that he excelled in Potions or needed help with Charms. But there were other difficulties.

"You honestly think that it's easy to have grown up in a family that's so different from you?" Draco said, getting a bit angry. "Always feeling like you are different, but with no explanation from anyone for the first eleven years of your life? Your brother calling you a freak? You didn't have to go through any of that, and it's not like you'd have to do really well to do fine in this fucked up wizarding world. You have it all on a silver platter, Granger."

It was obvious that this hadn't occurred to her before, but she went on, just as upset as he was. "I didn't _ask_ for a silver platter! Look, my father was top of his class when he went here, and he was Prime Minister, and now he's a professor," she said hotly. "And my mother had - well, still has - a fan club. They call her a living legend, and she's made Quidditch Hall of Fame. You have that hanging over your head. I have to do just as well or better than my parents, or else I'm a Granger family failure. Don't even pretend to understand any of my life."

They both stood there, breathing angrily and and glaring at one another but also feeling a bit sorry for one another.

Maybe the Program was working, after all.

* * *

"What!? I was going to invite you to _my_ house!" Ron exclaimed when Draco told his friends that he was to spend fall break at Hermione Granger's. Draco looked annoyed.

"Why does everyone assume I didn't have fall break plans?" he complained. "It's just around the corner and you're telling me _now_?"

Ron grinned sheepishly. "Actually mum told me to invite you both weeks ago but I forgot. I guess we'll just have Harry, then." Ginny gave Draco a grateful look, and Draco rolled his eyes. Sure, not having him there might let Ginny have a bit more alone time with Harry back home, but it's not like she didn't already have an entire army of older brothers.

"Why do you assume _I_ didn't have plans?" asked Harry, offended.

"Well, do you?"

"...no."

"I hear the Granger Mansion has like, gold plated walls," Ron said.

"Does the Prime Minister make a lot of money?" asked Harry.

Ron shook his head. "It's a government job so technically no - Hensen's more of a prestige whore. It's Granger's mum who's made a ton of gold from Quidditch and then made investments."

Draco massaged his temples. "I don't want to go..."

Ron shrugged. "At least the food will be good."

* * *

Draco was packing his bag for fall break when a knock came at the door. He went to open it and frowned. "Who let you in?"

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said crossly, walking in without being invited. She sat down on his bed, and he eyed her suspiciously.

"Look," Hermione said. "You don't want to come to my house, and I don't want you there. What's the big deal with you and this Program? Why can't you just tell Dumbledore you won't do it?"

"Why don't _you_?" asked Draco, although he knew why. "Besides, it's an entire year of tuition and lodging. And an O on the transcript. I'm not turning that down. Most people wouldn't, but I guess you don't understand that having grown up in a gold-plated mansion."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "What? First a silver platter and now a gold-plated house?" She shook her head dismissively. "Whatever. Come on, Malfoy. Surely we can strike a deal somewhere in the middle for _you _to end this thing early?"

"Can you give me a year of tuition and lodging plus an O on my final year transcript?"

"Well..."

"Thought so."

"I mean, you giving it up would be much less embarrassing than having to tell Dumbledore you snogged me."

"Perhaps, but considering how I won't..." He got up and turned to grab a coat from the closet, but Hermione quickly got up and stood in front of him, a little too close for comfort.

"What are you doing?" Draco said.

"Oh, come on, Malfoy," she said with a smirk. She licked her upper lip and did an internal scream for joy as she noticed him do a slight gulp. "Do you _really_ think you can really resist me if I tried?"

"You tried before," said Draco, trying his best to sound as nonchalant as possible. "You don't faze me."

"Oh, is that right?" she whispered. She took a step toward him, and he did a step back and almost fell over his suitcase. She smirked again and her hands reached for the top of her blouse.

"You are out of your mind," he breathed, his eyes on her fingers as they played with the top buttons. "And _this_ would be coming onto me, if we were to go to Dumbledore-"

"-so you mean _after_ you do something to me then?" she whispered. "What are you planning to do to me, Malfoy?" She undid the top button and licked her lips again. "Kiss me? Grope me?" She smirked. "Have me on a silver platter?"

_That conniving witch._


	8. Signals

**Chapter 8: Signals**

* * *

"Get out," said Draco, looking away from her. "I'll...I'll see you tomorrow." Hensen was supposed to take them both to the Granger Mansion in the morning.

"Aw, come on, Malfoy," laughed Hermione. "You've got to make this at least a little interesting for me." She stretched. "Fine. Let's see how long you last."

Draco ignored her and went to get his coat. She sat on his bed and studied him, a curious expression on her face.

"If I were to promise that I _won't_ tell Dumbledore, would you have kissed me just now?"

"Shut up," Draco said crossly, stuffing his coat into his suitcase. "Get out."

"I just want to know, that's all," Hermione said with a shrug. "If it weren't for the Project, if you'd have kissed me."

"Why do you even care?"

"So you're not denying it," said Hermione without missing a beat. She got up. "That's all I needed to know, thanks."

"I didn't affirm it, either," he said.

"I know." And with that, she left.

* * *

When Draco got to the castle entrance with his suitcase, Hermione and her father were waiting outside. It was a slightly cold morning, and grumbling, Hermione tossed him a hand warmer. It was obvious that her father had instructed her to do so.

"Uh, good morning, Professor Hensen," said Draco, catching the hand warmer. It was a small pouch charmed to stay heated. He put it in his pocket.

"Now, it's not polite to throw," Hensen said to Hermione before turning to Draco. "Why, good morning, Mr. Malfoy!" he said energetically. "It's fall break, you can call me Mr. Granger. Great to have you."

Being Prime Minister meant, at least to Hensen, that he had to master the art of pretending he liked those he did not. The thought of having to have over this Muggle-born Gryffindor boy as a guest disgusted him, but he also wanted to get tenure and someday take Dumbledore's job. What was a little discomfort for few days, especially when his poor daughter had to deal with the sorry bastard for months?

"Thank you, sir," Draco said uncomfortably, remembering all the pranks he had pulled on Hensen over the past few years.

"You've done side-along Apparition before?"

"Yes, sir."

"All right, then," Hensen said. He grabbed Hermione's suitcase and gestured the two kids to huddle around. They both held onto Hensen, with Draco clutching his suitcase tight to his chest. "Let's go."

Draco felt Hensen's arm twist away, and he held on even tighter. Everything went black and the familiar pressure overcame them all.

* * *

"Welcome to Rayne Heights," came Hensen's voice.

Draco blinked.

They were at the entrance of a large house. It wasn't quite a mansion; it looked like it had maybe four or five bedrooms at most. It however was a lovely one, with a small front garden with lots of red roses. He could also hear the ocean; they had to be close by. Who had even first said that the Grangers had a mansion? It was certainly a handsome house, but it was far from what he had been expecting.

"You look surprised," said Hensen, catching Draco's gaze. "We get that a lot when people visit us for the first time. They seem to expect a lot _more_."

Draco didn't say anything, as he wasn't sure if pointed questions would be polite.

"For one thing, I am not rich - Matilda is. And she likes to keep her money in banks and investments. No point in having a mansion if it's just the three of us for the most part. But all the rooms overlook the beach, so that's something!"

Draco nodded and followed Hensen and Hermione in. The walls weren't gold-plated, but the paintings on them were of breathtaking sceneries.

"Oh, Matilda," said Hensen adoringly.

Matilda Cliff Granger looked almost exactly like Hermione, except obviously older and with a darker shade to her hair which she wore in an elegant bun. Mrs. Granger was dressed in a dark grey knitted dress and smiled softly as she spotted Draco.

"Good morning, Mrs. Granger," he said politely. "Thank you for having me."

"Of course. Malfoy, I heard? Interesting name."

By _interesting_ she meant that she hadn't heard of the Malfoy name as a pure-blood wizarding family name, and Draco knew it. He guessed that Hensen and Hermione had already told her about the Program and how he was Muggle-born.

"All right," Hensen said. "Breakfast?"

* * *

Breakfast went by rather uneventfully. Mr. and Mrs. Granger were careful not to pry; it seemed like they decided to ignore the reason why he was there. There were some casual questions about how school was going, but there were no questions about his background or family. They didn't even really ask about how or how well he knew Hermione.

Hermione of course knew Draco because he and his two friends were infamous pranksters. Harry Potter was obviously famous as the Boy Who Lived, but the buzz about that died down once people got to know him. It wasn't as if the boy remembered anything about the One Who Must Not Be Named, whom everyone had begun to forget about by the time Harry got to Hogwarts six years ago. Professor Snape had been curiously nasty to him, which in turn made Harry Potter to become better known as the Boy Who Pulls Ridiculous Shit on Snape. Eventually the pranks spilled over to other professors students disliked.

She wondered what Draco came to know her as. They had had their first run in during first year when the Gryffindors and Slytherins took classes together and they were very much neck-to-neck. Why did he even care about grades when his family would obviously not care? He had annoyed her to no end because of that. But she supposed now that he also probably felt he had something to prove, coming from a Muggle family.

"All right," said Hensen, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Hermione, honey, could you show Draco to the guest bedroom? Don't worry about your suitcase, boy. We had Zico take it up there earlier."

Zico was the name of the Granger family's wrinkled but sprightly house elf, who was busy starting to do the dishes. Draco thanked them for breakfast and followed Hermione up the stairs.

"You are using this room right here," she said, opening the second door in the hallway. It was a spacious room with a large window overlooking the ocean. It was already quite bright outside. It'd be too cold to go for a swim, but a walk by the beach might be nice, he thought. His bed was well made and large, and Zico had put his suitcase by the mahogany closet.

"...and I'm right next door."

He turned to look at her. She was leaning on the door frame, a playful grin on her face.

"Seriously, Granger," said Draco. "We're on break. Give me a break, will you? I'm already here."

"Break from what?" she asked innocently.

Before Draco could respond, Mrs. Granger appeared at the door. Hermione just as innocently stepped away from the door frame and smiled at her mother.

"So I don't know if Hermione told you," said Mrs. Granger. "But do you happen to know Selena Ahn? She is your year at school."

Draco froze in panic. Selena Ahn was the Ravenclaw with whom he had drunkenly hooked up the year before - in fact, his one and only real mindless hookup. Why was Mrs. Granger bringing her up!?

"Um, yes, ma'am, I do," he said cautiously, a million thoughts buzzing in his mind.

"So the Ahn Family is a good friend and neighbor of ours," Mrs. Granger continued. Draco didn't know that Selena were pure-blood, but he now supposed that she was. "And Selena is throwing a party for all you kids home for fall break tonight. Thought it might be a fun thing for you and Hermione to do."

"Sure, thank you, Mrs. Granger," said Draco, sighing a secret sigh of relief. Mrs. Granger smiled and left. Hermione stood there leaning against the wall, smirking.

"It's a very pure-blood neighborhood, in case you haven't gathered that yet," she said. "You will be the only Muggle-born there."

"So?" Draco said defensively.

"It's not like at school, you dimwit," said Hermione. "And some of these kids don't even go to Hogwarts. Some of the parents insist on sending them to Durmstrang just to avoid going to school with Muggle-borns."

He scowled. "So what, you think they're going to attack me or something there?"

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "Just a warning." She studied his expression with a curious look on her face. He felt the gaze and shifted uncomfortably.

"What?" he said crossly.

"What happened with you and Selena Ahn?" she asked.

"What?"

"You heard me," Hermione said. "You tensed up big time when my mom mentioned her name."

Draco gave her what he hoped looked like a dismissive look, but Hermione did not buy it. "Oh, Merlin," she said. "You shagged her."

"Goodbye," Draco said.

"You shagged her!" she exclaimed again.

"Funny how your mind goes straight to that," he said, irritated. "Goodbye."

"And yet you play so coy with me," Hermione laughed.

"Well, unlike you, she wasn't trying to ruin something for me."

"You mean, while seducing you?" she said, clearly amused. "Well, I'm not going to apologize for having an ulterior motive. At least I'm honest about it."

"Because I caught you the second you began," said Draco, rolling his eyes.

"How did she do it?" asked Hermione. "I mean, she's very attractive. That long black hair, really nice legs..."

That certainly was true. While it had been drunk, it definitely was not regrettable. And she had such soft skin, as well as moans that drove him insane.

"If you have to know-"

"-I do-"

"-I guess she gave the right signals at the right time."

"What signals? Tell me, Malfoy. What signals are obvious enough for you?" The feigned seriousness made him chuckle.

"Generally I tend to get convinced that a girl wants to shag me if she goes out of her way to find me at a party, grind up against me, and drag me by my tie to her room. And like you said, she's very attractive."

Hermione pushed herself from the wall she was leaning on and readjusted her school tie. "Well, this just got to a whole new level of interesting," she said. "You know, I hate to lose. And Selena is an old family friend, which means I _have_ to win."

"Win at what, exactly?"

"In seducing you, of course!" The way she said it made the whole situation seem almost comical. She was also clearly half-joking, and he could not help but laugh a little.

"Well, as you said, Ahn and I have already shagged. In that sense, you've already lost."

"I wasn't playing then," said Hermione. "And now I am."

He did not respond, and she walked over to him. "So you say she came over to you..." She took his hand and rolled herself into his arms, her back to him. Her body pressed against his front, and he stood there, quite frozen. "And she grinded up against you..." She moved her hips, pushing slowly but surely up against him. He jumped, and she grinned. He would not forgive his body if it decided to give him a noticeable erection right now.

"And what was the last part? Drag you by your tie?"

He shook his hand free of her grip and stepped away from her. "Not going to work," he said as sternly as he could.

"We'll see about that," she said.


	9. One Thing

A/N: I see now I nearly have 50 followers for this story, but I still get very few reviews! Make my day and leave a review, will you? ;) - Tina

* * *

**Chapter 9: One Thing**

* * *

The Ahn family did not seem to think like the Grangers did when it came to wealth and residence. Despite that they too had a family of three, their house was definitely a mansion. As Selena opened the door Draco could see a set of white marble staircases and statues.

"Oh, Hermione! And - _oh._"

Selena was in a mini dress of deep purple, which went well with her long silky black hair which curled lightly at the bottom. She looked visibly shocked to see Draco Malfoy standing next to Hermione.

"Draco! What a surprise," she managed to say. "I didn't know you lived in Rayne Heights."

"He doesn't. He's my plus one," Hermione said, giving Selena a light hug and pecks on both cheeks. Draco also gave Selena a hug as she struggled to hide her surprise.

"Really, how so?" Selena asked.

"He's staying at my house for fall break," Hermione replied as if it were nothing. Selena gave Draco a confused look, and he shrugged.

"Well, come in, come in," Selena said. "We're in the ballroom."

Having a ballroom was probably not very surprising given the size of the mansion, but Draco was still very impressed. He and Hermione followed Selena down a hallway to a set of beautifully carved wooden doors. Few house elves hurried to open them as they arrived.

The place was lit with enchanted paper lanterns floating beneath the ceiling, and beautiful music played. There were about thirty people, all around their age, either sitting and chatting at tables or dancing. Draco had been expecting an informal get together and had only changed into his button-up shirt after seeing that Hermione was in a semiformal dress. This was something else.

"Hermione Granger!"

A tall, brown-haired boy with dark rimmed glasses threw what Draco noticed were some nicely muscled arms around Hermione and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Jackson," Hermione said. "Good to see you! How's Durmstrang?"

"It's the same old," said Jackson. "Bloody freezing, but what can you do?"

_Leave and go to Hogwarts_, Draco thought bitterly. The boy was clearly British. He had to be one of the pure-blood elitists going to Durmstrang to avoid Muggle-borns.

"And who is this?" Jackson asked, eyeing Draco.

"This is Draco. He goes to Hogwarts with me," Hermione said.

Draco offered his hand. "Draco Malfoy," he said.

"Jackson Rayne the Fourth," he said, shaking Draco's hand. Draco caught Hermione rolling her eyes, which made him strangely happy.

"Rayne as in Rayne Heights, this town?" asked Draco.

"Precisely," said Jackson. "Malfoy...I haven't quite heard that around here."

"Right," said Draco. He didn't feel like explaining that he was a Muggle-born, and left it at that. Jackson gave him a curious look and then shrugged.

"Well, a friend of Granger is a friend of mine...and for her to bring you here, seems like you might be even a bit more?"

"Oh, Jackson," said Hermione, laughing and playfully hitting Jackson on the arm. "You are too much!"

Someone else called Jackson's name, and he excused himself to join a group of young people who just arrived.

"_Oh, you are too much_," Draco said, mimicking Hermione's flirtatious tone as soon as Jackson was out of earshot.

"You sound jealous, Malfoy," Hermione said, very amused. "But you'd be a fool not to kiss up to a Rayne brother."

"There are _more_ of him?" said Draco. She laughed again.

"Yes. He's the eldest one who got the coveted first name and the numbering, but he has two younger brothers, Albert and Derek. Twins."

"You seem to know a lot."

"You have to," Hermione said. "And it's an increasingly small community."

He grinned. "Because pure-blood kids keep shagging the Muggle-born ones?"

She laughed. "I guess that's one way of putting it."

* * *

As Hermione caught up with some old friends at a table taking what looked like pretty strong shots, Draco got up to get a drink from the bar. As he reached for a glass, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Oh, hi," he said. Selena leaned close to whisper.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed. "I thought that was a one time thing!"

"Trust me, I know," said Draco. "I'm not really here for you."

She gave him an unbelieving look. "You're in my _house._"

"I...realize that," he said slowly. "But...long story short, Dumbledore wanted me to spend fall break at Granger's, so here I am."

Selena frowned. "Sounds like I'm going to need the long version sometime."

He shrugged. "Nice place."

She waved her hands dismissively. "Thanks. But, hold on. So...are you two going out?"

"No, we are not."

"And...you haven't told anyone we've...you know?" She looked around the room apprehensively.

"Well..." he said, his eyes trailing to where Jackson was laughing with some other boys. She looked aghast, and he laughed. "No, I didn't." He also hadn't technically _told_ Hermione that he had hooked up with Selena. She had guessed.

Selena sighed in relief, and he wasn't sure if he were supposed to feel hurt by that. To him it mostly was interesting, albeit in a slightly offensive way.

"So you pure-bloods aren't supposed to get involved with Muggle-borns?"

She looked at him apologetically. "You don't understand, Draco. There's just...so much pressure."

He shrugged. "I actually didn't even know that you were a pure-blood. And I mean...I'm pretty sure people saw us leaving together."

Selena blushed. "It's different at school," she said. "And we both established that it was a one time thing."

He poured himself a drink and turned to face her. "Why even once?"

Her blush deepened in color. "What do you want me to do, explain to you why I wanted to...?"

Draco looked around the room. "I'm in a room full of pure-blood kids, and already Jackson Rayne himself - excuse me, Jackson Rayne _the Fourth_ \- has already commented on not knowing my family name. I think I could use a bit of a confidence boost right about now."

"I-I mean," she stammered. She looked down at her toes. "I did think you were cute...and smart...and I guess a little..."

"A little what?"

"...dangerous."

He stared at her. "What?"

"I don't even know why we're talking about this right now," she said quickly and turned to walk away, but he grabbed her by her wrist.

"Go on," he said.

She looked around the room apprehensively. "A boy like you isn't exactly the type I'm likely to end up with," she whispered. "I'll probably have to marry one of the idiots in this room. Hopefully a Rayne. I could go for a Cliff but then it'd mean being related to Granger. No, thank you."

"So we Muggle-borns are for hook ups that get your little pure-blood hearts racing and that's it," he muttered.

"Merlin, Draco," breathed Selena.

"What?"

"Fuck, you're turning me on."

* * *

"What did she want?" said Hermione when Draco returned to the table. "More of the D?"

He stared at her. "Well, you're clearly drunk."

"D for Draco," she said, stifling a laughter and taking another sip of her drink.

He rolled his eyes. "Actually, yes. Apparently we Muggle-borns are like a sexual fantasy to you guys."

"Pbbbt."

"Well, at least that's why she wanted to shag me, and she wanted to just now, too."

She almost spit out her drink. "Just now?"

He nodded. She laughed.

"You know, I really am offended that I'm not the first pure-blood witch you'd kiss."

"I never said I was going to kiss you."

"I am further offended, considering you've already kissed her."

"Well, that's _one_ thing I did to her."

She looked at him, her eyes wide. "Oh, would you look at that! Joking with me again! Perhaps we can get farther with this thing."

"Not joking," he said with a sneer.

She took another sip of her drink. "Honestly, Malfoy, this _really_ is interesting. Now I do have to know. Would you kiss me if I told you I wasn't going to tell Dumbledore?"

"I wouldn't believe you," said Draco.

"But if you did," she pressed on.

"You're drunk."

"Irrelevant to the questioning," she said. "Go on. If you really truly believed that it wouldn't affect the Program, would you kiss me?"

"I told you we have too much of a history for me to consider you a girlfriend material."

"Who said anything about a girlfriend? You're not dating Selena Ahn."

_That conniving witch._

"If the two of us were at a party like this..." she said, and she dragged her chair closer to him. "And if I were in this really, _really_ sexy dress..." His eyes automatically trailed to the hem of her dark blue dress, which showed off her smooth legs. "And if we were both fairly intoxicated and in a very good mood..." She leaned close to him. "And I smelled really good..."

_That conniving witch._ She did smell really good.

"...would you kiss me then?"

He stared at her.

"Well," he said. He bit his lower lip. He couldn't handle it anymore.

"That's _one_ thing I'd do to you."


	10. Freebie

**Chapter 10: Freebie**

* * *

_That's one thing I'd do to you._

Hermione smiled. Perhaps it was the alcohol or the music, maybe it was the ambiance. Maybe it was the fact that, whatever was the reason, they were there tonight as a date to one another. Whatever it was, the fact that he really did feel attracted to her right now made her unbelievably happy and giddy inside. It was the kind of happy and giddy that she wasn't used to. With Blaise it had been...well, she wasn't so sure anymore. A lot of it, she reasoned, were hormones. A good deal of it was respecting each other for what the other had to offer: looks, good family, and status in and outside Hogwarts.

With Draco looking at her and telling her that kissing her was only one of the things that he wanted to do, Hermione felt something else. She told herself it was simply being happy that she had achieved a goal. Alcohol did significantly affect her ability to silence the nagging little voice inside her head that there was something more to it, however.

The slightly frustrated look stayed on his face. "But like I said...I wouldn't trust you."

"You shouldn't," she said. "And I didn't really make the offer."

"I am well aware," he muttered. "I'm also well aware of what I've done right now." He knew that knowing that he _was_ attracted to her, she would only up the ante until he did finally cave.

Perhaps he _wanted_ her to up the ante. Perhaps he wanted to cave.

* * *

Draco was heading back to the ballroom after using the bathroom when Selena cornered him. She looked upset.

"I told you to meet me outside and you blew me off," she said crossly.

"I told you I wasn't going to meet you outside, so that wouldn't be considered blowing you off," he said without missing a beat. "We established it was a one time thing, Selena."

"Yeah. One time then, and why not another time now?" she purred.

"No, Selena-"

"Is this guy bothering you?" Jackson Rayne stood at the doorframe, looking suspiciously at the two. "I thought you came here with Granger."

"I did," spat Draco. "I'm just on my way in."

"I must know, where are you from? I really haven't heard the name Malfoy before."

Draco stared at Jackson straight in the eyes. "That might be because I'm the first Malfoy to be a wizard."

Jackson looked confused, and then incredulous. "You're a Mudblood!?"

Draco shrugged. "My blood's as red as yours, mate," he said coldly.

"You're a filthy Mudblood!" Jackson exclaimed. "In Rayne Heights!"

Draco shrugged again. "I guess I am."

"You invite Mudbloods into your home, Ahn?" Jackson said nastily. Selena looked down at her shoes, unable to say anything.

Draco knew he could ruin Selena's reputation quickly by saying a throwaway line about the history between him and Selena, and in his head he even knew how to best say it in the most hurtful way. But at that moment in Selena's eyes he saw Hermione, from when she had been angrily lamenting about the ridiculous standards her parents had set for her. Instead of being mad at Selena for being silent and looking ashamed, Draco felt sorry for her.

"She didn't know. And I'm on my way out," Draco said blankly. He walked into the ballroom. "Oh," he called at the two standing at the door. "But not until I've taken all the free booze I can handle."

* * *

When Draco and Hermione left the party and drunkenly stumbled back into the house, it seemed that Hermione's parents had already gone to sleep. Hermione went straight into the bathroom to take a shower. Draco sat in his room enjoying the buzz and looking out the window, listening to the waves crash outside.

He got ready for bed and heard the water stop in the bathroom. There was a knock and Hermione came in, wearing a beige bathrobe. He looked away, his ears hot; her bathrobe really only came down to her thighs, and she looked so damn sexy with her hair wet.

"I forgot...I alwayd read something before bed, and all the books are in here." She still sounded fairly drunk. Hermione walked over to the shelf, which was filled with various books. "Must be here somewhere..." she said.

Draco glanced away from the window and at Hermione, and nearly did an audible gasp. The bottom of her ass was visible from beneath the bathrobe as she examined the lower shelves on her knees.

Draco tried hard to put his eyes on the ceiling, but increasingly it became apparent that she was doing this on purpose, as she spent way too long focusing on the bottom shelves. It was either that or she really was quite drunk. He gradually allowed his eyes to trail to her silky legs. Her thighs looked so good, and once in a while as she moved he caught a glimpse of her ass and at times, her pussy. He felt an erection coming, but he no longer even cared if she saw it. _Fuck it, I even told her I wanted to do things to her_, he thought drunkenly. He'd just sit and enjoy the view and make sure not to move.

Hermione finally picked something and got up. She stared at Draco with the happy-sort of drunk smile. "You liked that?"

He didn't respond. _Don't get off the bed_, he told himself.

"What did you do with Selena Ahn?" she asked, climbing onto his bed.

_Uh oh._

She was facing him, and he caught a glimpse of her breasts hanging beneath her bathrobe. Perfect tits with pink nipples. He felt his cock grow harder under the sheets. He looked up at the ceiling.

"Go to your room and sleep, Granger," he muttered.

She crawled closer to him.

"Make me."

That damn erection.

"You're still drunk," he managed to say. "I'm drunk, you're drunk, and you might regret this in the morning."

"No, I don't really think I will," she said. She crawled even closer, and soon their faces were mere inches away. She smelled of strawberries. He gulped.

"I'm making that offer now," she whispered. "Kiss me. This one's free. I promise. No repercussions. No telling anyone."

"You said I shouldn't believe you," he whispered.

She smirked. "I know. You shouldn't."

And with that, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

It was a simple, playful kiss, but heat took over him immediately. He grabbed her and kissed back fervently, and her body collapsed onto his. He couldn't tell if the heat was from his own lips of hers, but soon it didn't seem to matter. He felt dizzy. His ears rang. All that he could feel was her body pressing down on his and their lips, their tongues, their scents.

Hermione pulled herself away from him. He wanted to grab her and have her stay, but refrained from doing so with some effort. She climbed off the bed and stood in front of him. He couldn't quite make out what her face was saying. Some of it seemed flustered, some of it seemed satisfied in her usual smug manner, and some of it was dazed.

"That was a freebie to give you a taste," she said slowly. "Starting now, no more freebies." Then she stumbled out of the room.

* * *

_Oh, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit._

Hermione stood in the dark with her back to his door, panting. She prayed that he could not see her shaking as she left, and now she prayed that she had never kissed him. It felt way, way too good, and she wanted him to kiss her again badly. Well, that was _one_ thing she wanted him to do to her.

It would not be fair to chalk it off to his being a good kisser. After all, she had only kissed Blaise before this, and all things equal she would really need to say that Blaise was the better kisser. But that was the thing. All things were _not_ equal. There was something softer yet at the same time violent about kissing Draco Malfoy. She felt shaky as she stumbled in the dark hallway back to her room. She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, and for a second she wondered what it would be like to wake up in the morning and realize that this was only a drunk dream.

Hermione climbed into her own bed and lay there, staring at the dark ceiling. Her heart was thumping madly. She blushed as she remembered how she had, with liquid courage, given him a show of her body beneath her bathrobe. It had made her feel sexy and wanted, and the kiss that he returned to her seemed to prove that she indeed was wanted. Soon her mind went to doing more with him, and then to _being _more with him. She imagined what it would be like to sit next to him at meals and to watch the lake with him. To have him put his arm around her...

Then she thought of her parents. Her father would never have any of that. Her mother might disown her. She shuddered at the thought and turned in her bed. No, she'd not think about that right now. Not tonight. Tonight, she'd allow herself to be a girl who kissed a boy and felt butterflies in her stomach.


	11. Mrs Granger

A/N: I somehow forgot that I told everyone this fic will be 10 chapters. Nope. There's still a lot left (I'm actually writing chapter 13 right now), granted I keep getting reviews! Leave one? :)

* * *

**Chapter 11: Mrs. Granger**

* * *

Draco woke with a pounding headache and ridiculous thirst. It took him a few seconds to orient himself as to where he was, as the room was not the one he was used to. To his right was a large window, and beyond that was a beautiful ocean with the sun beginning to rise. Oh. He was in the Granger household.

Scenes from the night before began to come back to him. He had been at the party, and Selena Ahn had come onto him. He had told Granger he wanted to...oh, Merlin, had he really?

Draco put his hand on his forehead. Then, corner of his eye caught the large shelf. Had Hermione Granger really been on her knees there, flashing parts of her tight body while he sat on this bed? Had she really climbed on here? Had she really kissed him?

He touched his lower lip. It felt real, but he wasn't entirely sure. Was it simply a vivid dream?

He climbed out of bed and rummaged through his closet until he found some clothes for the day. He grabbed a towel from atop a dresser and stepped into the bathroom to take a shower.

* * *

Hermione woke to the sound of water running. Immediately she felt as if her temples were being pressed with massive force. She fumbled for her wand on her dresser and muttered a spell to ease the pain. She glanced at her window. The sun was well on its way up.

Images from the night before rushed back to her, and she felt her cheeks burn. Her heart was picking up speed all over again as she realized who was in the shower and that they had kissed less than ten hours ago. She kicked her covers away and stepped into her little private bathroom in her room. As she washed up and brushed her teeth the events of the night before replayed in her head, and when she went to get dressed she found herself being careful to pick out the cutest lingerie and outfit. She twirled in front of her mirror, examining herself in a half-sleeve plaid pleated dress.

A knock came, and she quickly threw her hair in a pony tail. "Come in!"

Her father walked in. "Oh good, you are up. Did you have fun last night?"

"Um, yes," she replied.

"So uh...did you have any plans for that boy?" Hensen asked, looking fairly uncomfortable. "I mean, he's technically our guest and we should entertain him."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't worry about it, father. I can handle it."

"You're not planning on spending the entire day with him, are you?" Hensen asked, a little alarmed. "After all, you _are_ home for break with your family."

"You teach at Hogwarts, father," she said, rolling her eyes. "We see each other _literally_ year around."

Hensen looked hurt. As much as he cared for things like prestige and respect among his peers, he too was a father who wanted his teenage daughter to like him.

She sighed, knowing this. "Did you have plans?"

It was clear that he didn't. Hermione sighed again. "I thought perhaps we can go down to the beach and then to shops along the boardwalk," she said. "You are more than welcome to join us," she lied.

It was obvious that her father could not quite make up his mind. On one side it would be horrendously rude to have Draco stay home by himself while she went out with her family, but at the same time he did _not_ want his daughter to spend the entire break alone with that Muggle-born boy. "I guess I could go with you."

"Sounds great!" Hermione said with an internal groan.

* * *

"So, tell me, Draco," said Mrs. Granger over breakfast. "What do your parents do for a living?"

Hermione nearly choked on her orange juice. Silence regarding Draco Malfoy's family all day the day before had made her assume that her parents were not going to ever ask about it, and yet there her mother was, asking straight on. She glanced at Draco - whom she had been too embarrassed to talk to as they ran into each other in the hall way and walked down the stairs together - and was glad to see that he did not seem very fazed.

"My father is a painter, and my mother is a solicitor."

"Oh, that's interesting," Mrs. Granger said. "Perhaps we can get your father to do a painting for us."

Draco looked around the room, where hung several paintings of slightly moving sceneries. In one painting leaves of a tree moved gently in the breeze, and in another snow fell steadily atop a mountain. "He is quite good, but I'm afraid Muggle paintings don't move."

Mrs. Granger looked positively confused. "What do you mean?"

"Mother-" Hermione began, but Draco again did not look offended or taken aback.

"Everything is quite still in a Muggle painting," he explained. "Perfectly still."

"I have seen one," said Hensen. "Much like a statue."

"How interesting," said Mrs. Granger. She stirred her tea. "William, wouldn't that be fun? To have a painting that is so perfectly still?"

"Yes, darling," said Hensen dismissively, taking a bite out of his toast.

Despite the content of the conversation, it was apparent at least to Hermione that her parents had no intention of having a painting by a Muggle in their home, moving or not. She hoped that Draco couldn't hear the superficiality in her parents' voices that she was sure was there, and then:

"Would your father accept Galleons, or would we need to acquire some Muggle money?" asked Mrs. Granger.

"Er," said Draco, clearly taken aback this time. "I'm not quite sure, actually, as he has never sold to wizards..."

"How does that work, William? You should know."

Hensen coughed and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Well, that was with the Trades Department."

"You should bring it up with your father," Mrs. Granger said.

"Sure, ma'am," Draco muttered. Hermione sat there, her coffee cup in her hand, absolutely and helplessly dumbfounded.

* * *

"That was not nice, mother," Hermione said crossly, shutting the kitchen door behind her.

Mrs. Granger turned. "What do you mean?" Zico went about cleaning after breakfast while Mrs. Granger poured herself another cup of tea.

"About the Muggle painting. Why would you even ask him to do that?"

"Do what?"

"To ask his father if _he would accept Galleons_," Hermione said sarcastically.

"I mean, it's only fair that we pay him, isn't it?" Mrs. Granger sipped her tea. "I hate it when people seem to think artists should just _give away_ their art for nothing."

"You know what I meant, mother," said Hermione, irritated. "You don't mean to _actually_ hang a Muggle painting in here."

"You don't know that," said Mrs. Granger.

Hermione stared at her mother incredulously. "You would never hang a Muggle painting in here."

"Perhaps I will, Hermione."

"Just to make that point, maybe!"

Mrs. Granger sighed and put down her cup on the counter. "I am just trying to be nice and welcoming, darling."

"It's not so nice when it's just empty, mocking words," Hermione said.

"They weren't empty or mocking words, and I am offended that you thought that. Did it ever cross your mind that perhaps I really was simply being nice and welcoming?"

"Since when were you like that to Muggle-borns?" Hermione spat. She knew she was being terribly impolite to her mother, but the more they talked, the angrier she got.

"Since when?" said Mrs. Granger. She sighed. "Maybe since I saw that my only child has a crush on one."

Hermione stopped, shocked. "I-I don't-"

Mrs. Granger picked up her cup and took another sip. "Don't even try, sweetheart. I am your mother. I saw the way you look at the boy all day."

Hermione didn't know where to begin. First, she hadn't even admitted to herself that she had a crush on Draco Malfoy. Second, even if she did, her first instinct in this situation would have been to vehemently deny it. What came out of her mouth next, however, skipped all of those steps.

"And you are fine with it?" Hermione stammered.

Mrs. Granger sighed. "You are young, darling. What I say or do isn't going to affect how you feel about him."

"That's not true," said Hermione quickly. "I do think about-"

"I know what you think about," Mrs. Granger said. She looked a bit sad, and it confused Hermione further. "I know you think about the boys' family, what I would think, what your father would think. I know you take into account all of these things when you consider boys to date. And it's because you are a bright and responsible young lady, and we are very proud of you. But that's on boys you might decide to date and eventually marry, not boys you have crushes on. You don't have control over that." She walked over to the sink and handed her cup to Zico, who took it and started washing it. She sat on the stool by the counter, and Hermione sat across from her.

"I was just like you, darling," said Mrs. Granger, clasping her fingers together. "I only dated pure-blood boys that your grandparents would approve of. It did limit the pool quite a bit, but Quidditch was a great distraction from all of that. And-" She hesitated. She reached for and held Hermione's hands in hers. "And I don't want you think that I don't love your father or he doesn't love me; we do love each other very much. But I would be a goddamn liar to say I didn't have feelings for others. But it was always from afar. I suppressed it. And even when one whom I loved very much came to me and said he loved me, I turned him away. I didn't even ask my parents. I just assumed they would say no." She looked down and smiled sadly. "I'm not saying yes or no, sweetheart. But I don't want you to hold back on account of what you think I will say. My heart breaks for my younger self, and my heart will break for you if you ever thought that."

Hermione did not know what to say. It was the first time her mother and she had talked openly about boys at all, and the fact that it was the complete opposite of what she was expecting both impressed and terrified her. Hermione had lived her life a certain way this whole time, and suddenly the person who had played a significant role in making her that way was telling her that everything wasn't all that it had seemed.

Mrs. Granger held Hermione's hands tight and continued. "After I broke his heart, I cried for weeks. And I hated my parents for it, although they had no idea about any of it. I don't want you to hate me. You are my only child, my baby, and you are a perfect daughter. You are so bright. I trust you will make the right decisions."

Hermione grasped her mother's hands even tighter.

"And honestly, parents don't know all the right answers, either." Mrs. Granger smiled. "Shocking, isn't it?"


	12. Bad

**Chapter 12: Bad**

* * *

The beach was more crowded than they had expected. All students after all were home for fall break, and the beach seemed to be a popular destination to spend time despite that it was a bit too cold to swim. Groups of people were seen walking along the beach and enjoying the day. Hermione, her father, and Draco walked together in relative silence for a while until Hermione suggested going to the boardwalk to check out the shops. The men agreed without much contest. As they were working on getting sand out of their shoes, Draco heard a relatively familiar voice:

"Mr. Granger!"

"Oh, hello, Jackson!" said Hensen goodheartedly. Draco was less than thrilled to see Jackson Rayne, who appeared to be also out on a walk.

"Good day, isn't it?" said Jackson after giving Draco a condescending sneer.

"It certainly is! Is Durmstrang also on break?"

"Yes," Jackson replied. "I actually caught up with Hermione last night at Selena's party."

"Oh, that's right," said Hensen.

"And I also ran into you," said Jackson, turning to face Draco. "Draco Malfoy, wasn't it?"

"It was, and still is," said Draco coldly.

"Didn't realize you were this close to the Grangers, to be on an outing with the Prime Minister."

"Ex Prime Minister," said Hensen with a nervous laugh. "And, er, we are hosting Draco here for a school project at Hogwarts."

"Is that right?" Jackson said softly. "That's a relief."

"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Hermione before Draco could, and Hensen looked apprehensively at all of them. It made her angry that her father was acting like this. Jackson shrugged, said he didn't mean anything, and bid all of them goodbye. Draco, Hermione, and her father walked to the boardwalk in silence, too upset or uncomfortable to say anything to each other.

They were examining some enchanted seashell ornaments in front of a shop when a little child accidentally tripped and got a bit of his ice cream on Hermione's leg. She excused herself to go to the restrooms to clean it off. When she walked out, however, she was stopped in her tracks by none other than Jackson Rayne.

"Well, it's been less than five minutes, Jackson," said Hermione just as coldly as before. He was a Rayne and she had always been careful to kiss up to him, but for some reason today she did not feel like it.

"I know," he said. "I didn't like your tone earlier, Granger."

"Excuse me?"

"Better phrasing, but again, not the best tone," said Jackson. "I was only expressing my relief in that Mudblood's only reason for being in your house was for some school project, and you dared snap at me. It's unlike you, Granger."

He took a step closer to her, and she took an instinctive step back. There was a brick wall behind her, and they were in a pretty secluded spot. She bit her lower lip.

"Don't look so terrified, Granger," said Jackson. "I'm only telling you these things in light of the good news I bring."

"And what's that?" she asked, looking at him straight in the eyes.

"That you're up there as one of the top choices to be my wife," he said with a smirk. "I can't have my future wife use that sort of tone with me, not to mention run around with a Mudblood." He got closer to her and put his hand on the wall behind her. She glared up at him.

"Get away from me," she said through gritted teeth.

"Again, not the sort of tone I would want of my wife," Jackson whispered. "But of course, it's not set in stone. I don't want a whore, but I also can't have a goddamn prude. Why don't you show me what you've got?" He leaned closer to her. "How good are you with your mouth?"

"Piss off, Rayne," said Hermione.

"We're going to have to get you some soap for that mouth," he said with a condescending sneer. "Definitely _before_ you get to pleasure me with it."

She tried to push him away, but he was stronger than her. He pressed her up against the wall and roughly kissed her, sticking his tongue deep in her mouth. His left hand squeezed her right breast, hard. She groaned in pain but not much came out, as his mouth was on hers.

"It really is a shame, the faces and bodies on the pure-blood girls these days," he said with a snicker once he finally pulled away. "It's not a great pool, but then once in a while we have a diamond in the rough."

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "Someone will come eventually," she said angrily.

"We're just having fun, Granger," he said. "And even your father would be _delighted_ to see us together." He began feeling her up, grabbing her breasts and rubbing her ass. "I am, after all, Jackson Rayne." She tried to kick and punch, but he was very strong. Then-

"_AVADA-"_

"_NO!"_

_"NO!"_

_"STUPEFY!_"

Jackson fell back into a helpless heap. She didn't even look to see who had stunned him and pulled out her wand. She didn't even have to say the words; she pointed her wand at his unconscious body and bright yellow light erupted from the end . Jackson's body did a violent jolt and it looked like he was conscious again, but soon he was writhing in great pain.

"AHHHHH!" he screamed. "MAKE IT STOP!"

She kept her wand pointed at him, breathing angrily. The beam continued from her wand to his writhing body. His eyes bulged out and his limbs were twisting.

"Hermione!"

She turned but kept her wand still. Her father and Draco were few feet away, also panting and looking both angry and shocked. They both had their wands out.

"That's not Crucio, is it?" yelled Draco.

"No," she yelled back. Jackson continued screaming and writhing.

If any other person had been there, he or she would have told Hermione that that was quite enough. But neither Hensen nor Draco said anything to stop her. Only as it was apparent that she might actually kill him did Hermione stop. Jackson lay there, unconscious from the pain.

Her father stepped forward and looked like he wanted to say something. She looked at him in the eyes.

"You are my father, and you shouldn't care that he's Jackson Rayne. He _attacked _me."

"Sweetheart," said Hensen. His expression was unreadable, and that scared her a little.

"Father?"

"Your father was going to kill him," said Draco. "And I don't blame him, but I couldn't let him to do that." It was clear that it was Draco who had stunned Jackson. She gave him a grateful look and turned back to her father to hug him.

"Oh," she said when she pulled away from her father. "Just so you know, we are _not_ moving."

* * *

They had Jackson Rayne suspended in the air with a spell until he regained consciousness. He began kicking and screaming from shock until he realized who were gathered below.

"Mr. Granger!" he gasped.

"Hi, Jackson," said Hensen. "It really is a regrettable situation here, Jackson."

"I-"

"-attacked my daughter, that's what you did," Hensen said.

"We were just fooling around, sir," said Jackson. "If you'd just let me down-"

"Didn't look like it, didn't sound like it," Hensen called from below.

"You better let me down, sir," said Jackson, his tone getting increasingly condescending. "I'm afraid you will regret it if you don't."

Hensen ignored him and continued. "If it weren't for Draco here, I would have literally murdered you today. You owe him your life, you know."

Jackson sneered. "What do you want me to do, _thank_ the Mudblood?"

"That might help your situation," called Draco.

Hensen continued. "And she's told me a bit of what you said. Let all the records in the world reflect that I have no intention of letting you marry my daughter, ever."

Jackson had the audacity to laugh. "You jest, sir."

"Do you see me laughing?"

Jackson narrowed his eyes at Hensen. "You cannot be serious. You and father have been speaking for years."

Hermione turned sharply to her father. "Is that true?"

"Hold on, honey," said Hensen. He looked up at Jackson again. "I never was too fond of the idea anyway, Jackson. You know, Albus Dumbledore recently asked me if I'd thought of any names for my grandchildren. I really like Shane for boys, but _Shane Rayne_ just sounds silly, don't you think?"

"Let. Me. Down," growled Jackson.

Hensen's expression turned cold. "Touch my daughter again, and I will kill you."

* * *

Draco was rather awkward with Hermione for the rest of day. It seemed that he didn't quite know what to say to her. She on the other hand was grateful that he had saved her father from committing murder. As for what Jackson did to her she was more pissed than particularly embarrassed or hurt, so that Draco being on tip toes around her annoyed her a little. The next evening, Hermione decided there had been quite enough awkwardness. She told herself she was just trying to get back to her plan of getting him to come on to her, but she knew that she enjoyed getting into his head. She kept on thinking about the kiss and wanted him badly to do more. She was incredibly grateful that she had the Project as an excuse.

A chance came when both her parents had left for a night to have dinner with the current Prime Minister's family. She sat in the sofa in the living room with a book while Draco stood awkwardly about.

"You okay?" she said, breaking the silence with a soft chuckle.

"Oh," he said. "I'm good."

Another silence befell them.

"Sit next to me," she said, putting her hand on the spot next to hers. He looked uncertain, and she sighed. "It's another freebie."

It was the first time either had even acknowledged their kiss, and he almost laughed. "It's _you_ coming on to _me_, not the other way around here," he said.

"Well, sitting is hardly like a kiss," she said, putting her book away. "But in that case...can I have one freebie from you? It's only fair." She wanted to make this seductive, playful request sound like she was still trying to get him to quit the Program, but in reality she did want him close. She laughed at herself silently for having to pretend that she had an ulterior motive when she didn't. He walked over and sat down next to her, and she lay her head on his shoulder. He gulped.

"Your family has been surprising," he said quietly after few more minutes passed in silence. "In...a good way."

"Oh, you have no idea," said Hermione, not lifting her head from his shoulder. "It's been a very illuminating weekend. But I'm glad."

"Yeah?"

"Glad that you realized we're not all that bad."

He stared down at her. He wanted to kiss her again so badly, and it surprised him how intense that desire was.

"I mean," she added with a little playful smile. "Not _that_ bad, but I'm still pretty bad."

"Merlin's Beard," breathed Draco. "Don't say things like that."

"Like what?" asked Hermione innocently.

"Like that you are _bad_," Draco muttered, visibly irritated.

"Oh, come on, Malfoy," said Hermione with a laugh. And at that moment, she did feel quite bad. She felt...wicked.

"You always knew I was bad," she said. In one swift movement, she took his hand and placed it on her bare knee. He jumped but didn't move his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Being bad," replied Hermione, gently pushing his hand up her thigh. It was incredibly slow, and he felt his ears get hot again. His hand was moving up and up, guided by her hand. Soon it reached the hem of her dress, but they kept going, slipping underneath. Soon their hands were at the top of her thigh.

"For the record, this is _your_ doing, not mine," breathed Draco, feeling the softness of her skin but looking up at the ceiling.

"Yes, it's still _my_ freebie from you," came her playful voice. He felt her spread her legs, and his heart began to race faster. She was guiding his hand over and down until his fingers touched a fabric. The heat and a slight hint of moisture there drove him insane. She forced his hand to rub against her. He kept his eyes on the ceiling, determined not to do any more than she was making him do, but there was no denying that this was surreal.

"Mmm," she let out the softest moan, but it was loud and clear to him. He knew exactly what he was touching through the thin fabric, and the wetness there was getting more and more obvious. Soon he found his fingers moving on their own without Hermione's guidance. Her moans became more frequent and louder as his fingers dug in. Her body soon shivered and she came, and he felt it. She smirked at the bulge in his pants as his hand continued to rub her.

"Okay, I'm giving you another freebie, for right now," she gasped with a grin. "What do you wanna do?"

He pulled his hand back and stared at her. The stare made her quickly imagine a thousand things that she wanted him to do to her. But instead, he got up.

"I'm saving mine for later," he said with a smirk.

"Oh," Hermione muttered. "You're bad."

* * *

**A/N: Want more? Leave a review!**


	13. I Know

**Chapter 13: I Know**

* * *

The rest of the long weekend was a breeze compared to the first couple of days. Draco was careful to give Hermione and her family some room and to avoid temptations to use up his turn for a "freebie" too quickly. He opted to spend a lot of the time left walking along the beach by himself or reading. By the time they Apparated to Hogwarts again, both of them were well-rested and in a good mood.

It was as Draco was massaging his neck from the strain of Apparating that Ginny Weasley pounced on his back.

"Draco!" she squealed. Hermione, who was taming her hair that got somehow tangled in the Apparition, looked up to see the redhead Gryffindor hugging Draco from the back. A pang of jealousy came over her, but she masked it well and nodded to Draco before walking off with her father.

"Hey, Ginny," Draco muttered. "Have a good break?"

"The best," Ginny said brightly. "We got to second base."

Draco raised a brow. "What?"

"We snogged and Harry touched my boobs," Ginny explained. "Under the bra," she added with a wink.

"No, no, I know what second base means," Draco said hurriedly, somewhat horrified. "You mean you did all that at the Burrow!?"

"You are impressed, and rightfully so," Ginny said happily. "We just took a _lot _of walks."

"And your parents and brothers didn't notice anything weird about that?"

"Aw, come on," laughed Ginny. "They probably didn't know we'd get _that_ far, but honestly I think they all secretly ship us."

"Ship you?" said Draco, confused. "Merlin's Beard, am I the only one who doesn't know what that means..."

* * *

Hermione was unpacking in her room when a knock came at the door. "Come in!" she called, putting one of her coats on a hanger.

Blaise came in, an unsure look on his face. He smiled uneasily. "Hey," he said. "Had a good break?"

"Sure," she muttered in response. There had been a lot of up and down.

"Do you have a minute to talk?" he asked. She nodded and he walked in and sat at the edge of her bed. She got up to sit next to him.

"I did a lot of thinking over break," he said slowly. "And I am okay with the whole Malfoy bit. I want to be with you. You can just let it run its course, and I won't be bothered with it as long as you don't do any more with him than the bare minimum."

He reached for her face and kissed her softly. His lips felt marvelous, and she did have to admit that he was an excellent kisser. At the same time, however, it made the memory of the kiss with Draco Malfoy rush back with unbelievable force. That had been something else entirely. Hermione pulled back from Blaise.

"I'm sorry," she said gently. "I don't think we should be together right now."

"What?" He looked both confused and irritated. That his expression was more that of being offended than hurt convinced Hermione that she had made the right decision.

"I'm just...confused in many ways right now, and-"

"Merlin," gasped Blaise. "You fancy the Mudblood."

"Will you please stop using that word?" snapped Hermione.

"You used that word much more than I ever did," Blaise said darkly. "It's true. You've grown to care for the filthy Mudblood."

"Why do you automatically jump to that conclusion?" she asked crossly, growing more irritated by the second. "Why do you assume that the only reason I might not want you is because there is someone else?"

"So are you denying it?" asked Blaise. "There _is_ no one else?"

"I don't know, Blaise," Hermione said angrily. "I just need time. You were right. We should talk after this thing is over."

* * *

Draco was walking to the library one Thursday evening to return a book he had borrowed when he thought he heard something. He stopped in his tracks. Someone had definitely let out a very loud moan. He peered into window of a classroom he was by.

A busty blonde Slytherin whom Draco recognized as Tania McEntee was bent over the teacher's desk, stark naked. Her clothes were scattered around the floor, and her breasts were smashed against the top of the desk. She had been the one moaning, responding to the violent thrusts from none other than Blaise Zabini.

This was in line of what he had heard recently. Rumors that so-and-so was seen snogging Blaise had become increasingly commonplace, and soon people were talking about different girls the dark and handsome Slytherin was supposedly shagging. Draco had been admittedly surprised to hear these rumors but secretly relieved that Hermione's name never came up in them. Draco wondered if she knew. A part of him did not want her to know, but then another part of did, and he couldn't really explain why. Were Hermione and Zabini together? If so, did she know that he was cheating on her? But she had kissed Draco...was that cheating?

"We do a lot of stupid things as young men," said Harry thoughtfully when Draco mentioned what he had witnessed. It was an uncharacteristically mature thing to say, but since fall break Harry had acted even a bit comically "adult" in many ways. Draco knew that Harry had kissed Cho Chang two years back but was becoming increasingly sure that Ginny Weasley was the first girl whose nipples had been pinched by the Boy Who Lived.

"What do you mean?" asked Draco, inking his quill for the Transfiguration essay.

Harry shrugged. "Maybe he's finally decided to more fully explore his sexuality."

"That sounds incredibly gay," said Draco.

"And you sound like a slut-shamer!"

"I'm not slut-shaming him," Draco grumbled. "Just saying he's getting around."

"Oh, speaking of which," said Harry with a snicker. "I heard something the other day that might make you laugh. Apparently, loads of girls think that _you_ get around quite a bit."

_Your reputation precedes you_, Hermione had said to him. Draco rolled his eyes. "I heard that too. Where are people getting that from, honestly?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno."

* * *

"Hi."

"Hi."

Hermione did not know what else to say. She hadn't really spoken to him since they had arrived back after fall break, and now they had to head over to Dumbledore's office for their next task. _Not too many left after this_, Dumbledore had assured her in the letter he had sent to Hermione. The two stood awkwardly in front of the portrait hole of the Gryffindor dormitories.

"You don't have to worry," said Hermione at last.

Draco looked up, confused. "Sorry?"

"I won't tell Dumbledore about...the freebies."

"Oh," he muttered. "Thanks." He remembered their twisted history of "freebies" and his ears felt hot. She had given him one, and he had given her one. Sort of. And now it was apparently his turn, and he had been "saving" it...

They began walking toward the headmaster's office. She could not help but notice how good he looked. Had he always had the features that were so...delicate? And damn it, had he always smelled so nice? It had to be no more than soap, but it was driving her insane as they walked. She seriously pondered stopping him and dragging him to one of the deserted hallways. She would give him another freebie. Fuck trying to terminate the Program. She didn't care anymore. She found that she _liked_ spending time with him, so why not oblige to his very much communicated desire to _do things to her_?

"Wait, Malfoy-" she began, but before she could finish she felt him reach for her wrist. She couldn't see the look on his face, but her heart began to thump madly as he began to run down the hall, but not in the direction of Dumbledore's office. She ran with him, her head buzzing with a million thoughts and emotions. He barely came to a halt in front of a broom closet, which he quickly opened. It was largely empty except for a single old Cleansweep One. He entered the closet without a moment of hesitation, dragging Hermione in and closing the door. Soon they were standing there panting, in the dark but oh so wonderfully aware of the very little distance between them.

There was a bit of delicious silence. They focused on each other's breathing only. Hermione felt faint.

"What are you up to, Malfoy?" she managed to say.

"I want my freebie now," he breathed.

Their eyes began to adjust to the darkness. Draco reached for her face, and she felt him get closer.

"I didn't say yet that I was giving you one here," she whispered.

His lips touched hers, and after coaxing her mouth slightly ajar he sucked lightly on her lower lip. She shivered.

"I know," came his husky voice.

This time she attacked his lips first, and soon they were wrapped in each other's arms. In the dark his hands fumbled for her body and she quickly helped, getting out of her shirt with some effort. Her hand reached for between his legs and he let out a grunt. Her hand was both bold and hungry, as was his mouth that now trailed down her neck. The enclosed space and the darkness only added to the fire within them.

"Oh, Granger," he groaned as he kissed her bare shoulder and her hand began to hastily unbuckle his belt. It slid underneath his boxers and touched him. He let out another grunt as he felt her soft hand grab hold of his manhood.

Then, there was light. Someone had opened the closet doors. The two froze, blinking in the blinding light and absolute terror.

There was no telling who was the most surprised. Hermione Granger, shirtless and with her hand down Draco Malfoy's pants? Draco Malfoy, with his mouth on Hermione Granger's bare shoulder and with her hand down his pants? Luna Lovegood, with an open blouse and the front of her bra dragged down to reveal her small pale breasts?

Or Severus Snape, who held the partially undressed Luna Lovegood by her wrist?

* * *

**A/N: 1) Please leave a review! 2) I recently finished the pretty big task of reading through and editing SexyWitches Inc (Seducing Mr. Malfoy also went through a similar edit). Please check it out if you haven't. Even if you have, if it's been a while it might be worth a reread! ;) **


	14. Honey

**Chapter 14: Honey**

* * *

Snape quickly loosened his grasp of Luna's wrist. He was visibly pale, looking more furious than embarrassed. Hermione quickly retracted her hands and reached for her blouse on the closet floor while Draco hastily buckled his belt, his face red. Luna meanwhile did not bother to cover herself up, staring at the two in the closet in childlike wonder.

"Friends!" Luna chirped happily. She turned to Snape. "Is this going to be a foursome?"

"Quiet, Miss Lovegood," Snape spat. "All of you, to my office, now."

"Actually, professor, we need to get to Dumbledore's office," said Hermione, suddenly remembering where they had been heading before Draco had dragged her away on a detour.

Snape scowled. "Doesn't seem like you were on your way there when I found you now, does it? My office, now."

* * *

"With all due respect, sir," said Draco as they took seats in Snape's office. "We are adults now, and we were...er, in an _enclosed_ space. There was really no indecency going on until you opened the door on us."

"You think I didn't hear about the ridiculous program Professor Dumbledore is running with you two?" snapped Snape. "He was getting oddly specific about you two not getting together, and then I thought he was being ridiculous!"

_Shit_, thought Draco.

Snape turned to Hermione. "I expected better of you, Miss Granger. And with your father in these very halls!"

"I'm right here, sir!" said Draco angrily. "And how about you?"

"What about me?" asked Snape in an almost whisper, as if daring Draco to go on.

Draco pointed at Luna, who was playing with her own nipples as if she had never seen them before.

"What about Miss Lovegood?" Snape asked in the same tone. It was however Hermione who piped up at once.

"Oh, come on, professor," she said, annoyed. "It's clear what is going on here."

"You are mistaken, Miss Granger," Snape said curtly. "There is nothing inappropriate going on between myself and Miss Lovegood, and I am offended that you would suggest such."

Hermione and Draco both stared at Snape incredulously.

"Tell us, Luna," said Draco, who after all was closer to her than Hermione was. "What were you going to do in the broom closet with Professor Snape?"

Snape looked irritated. "I'm the one asking questions here-"

"-I don't know," chirped Luna. "I mean, once he opened the door it looked a lot like we'd be having a foursome."

"But normally?" asked Draco.

"It's regrettably just the two of us, normally," said Luna. For a split second Snape looked hurt at the word "regrettably," and Hermione rolled her eyes. Luna seemed to have caught his expression too. "Oh, no, professor," she said quickly. "I do enjoy it, I just meant it might be more fun with more."

"And what do you do with Professor Snape normally?"

Snape did an almost audible groan. "You don't have to answer-"

"Hot, sweaty sex," said Luna dreamily. "We are in love."

This time Hermione caught Snape's expression brighten for a split second. He caught himself in time and cleared his throat, looking up at the ceiling.

"The sex is usually from the back," Luna continued. "But I do enjoy a good deal of cleaning his penis."

There was a bit of silence.

"With my mouth," said Luna happily. Snape coughed.

"-and there's always _way_ too much honey involved-"

"-all right, that's enough," said Snape quickly.

Hermione finally stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Let's go, Malfoy. Doesn't look like he'll squeal."

Snape pursed his lips. "Are you threatening me, Miss Granger?"

"Oh, absolutely," Hermione responded at once. Draco got up as well. As they marched out of Snape's office they heard him call after them.

"For the record, _she_ came onto _me_-"

* * *

When they got to Dumbledore's office it was good half hour later than when they were supposed to be there. Hermione knocked on the door and Dumbledore's sprightly voice came at once: "Come in!"

"Sorry we are late, professor," Hermione said as they took their seats.

"No worries!" said Dumbledore goodheartedly. "How was your fall break in Rayne Heights?"

It all seemed so long ago. They had had their first kiss there...they had been quite handsy there...and soon their minds went to just moments ago when they were getting even handsier in the broom closet. Draco felt his ears get hot at the thought and worried that Dumbledore could see.

"It was fine, professor," came Hermione's cool and collected voice.

"And I trust no inappropriate behavior?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes sparkling.

"Never, sir," said Hermione. Draco thought of how he had touched her between her legs on her sofa and admired her ability to speak so indifferently.

"Good, because it distracts from the Program," Dumbledore continued, but he did look considerably disappointed. "No strong sexual tensions of any kind?"

Almost instinctively, the two turned to each other. Draco almost jumped as their eyes met.

"Uh, no, sir," Draco stammered.

* * *

"_Uh, no, sir_," Hermione said mockingly. Draco rolled his eyes. They were walking back from Dumbledore's office after receiving their next task, which was to lead a group of first years on a guided field trip with Professor Sprout.

As they walked they came in front of a broom closet. Not the one they had been in, but a broom closet nevertheless. Draco began to feel warm all over again. Hermione caught the unease in him and smirked.

"The closet does remind me," she said slowly. "I have come to a decision."

"Yes?"

She looked at him in the eyes. "I decided not to try and get out of the Program," she said firmly. "He said there aren't too many tasks left anyway, and...you're not too bad. Might as well make some gold and an O."

He stared at her. The first emotion that really came to him was that of disappointment rather than relief, and he hated himself for it. It was definitely a good news, but he had so enjoyed her teasing and "freebies." He told himself that it was just reckless, fun romping around that he enjoyed, but he did feel a pang of something painful as he stood there.

"I take it you know what this means," she said carefully.

He did. He was disappointed because it meant that she would no longer try to seduce him. He bit his lower lip. It had just begun to be irresistibly fun...but perhaps it was for the best...and they would at least spend time finishing the Program...

"That you won't be trying to get me to come onto you all the time," said Draco, not caring enough to mask the bitterness in his voice.

Hermione laughed. "No, Malfoy," she said.

He looked up in surprise.

"It means," she said slowly with a smirk. "That we are going to have to be _very _careful not to get caught."

* * *

Hermione felt incredibly giddy. She knew it wasn't as if they decided to start going out, but she couldn't control how she felt. She had run off to the Slytherin dorms after giving him a long, sultry kiss on the lips, and she was still feeling out of breath as she lay on her bed. Once in a while she would let out a squeal and bury her face in her pillow. Her roommate Tania McEntee gave her a curious look.

"Everything okay?" Tania asked.

"Yeah," Hermione said into her pillow. "Yep. Everything's great."

* * *

It took Draco quite a bit of time to explain everything that had happened - excluding some of the rather explicit details - to his friend Harry. Draco had decided he had to tell _someone_, just to give a bit of realness to a situation that would have seemed absolutely insane just a month or so ago. The boy with the scar sat silently in his chair, taking everything in as Draco told his story and got up when he was finished.

"Well," said Harry at last, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "So to summarize...you are in some sort of a twisted, sexual, secret relationship with none other than Hermione Granger."

Draco pondered this for a bit and almost laughed at how that sounded despite being pretty accurate. "I guess you could say that," he muttered.

"And you did take into account that she's evil?"

Draco opened his mouth to contest this and then stopped. She was pretty evil. But right now, he loved that about her. _That conniving witch._

"You're letting your teenage hormones get the better of you, Draco," said Harry darkly. "At least that's what I think. She's been nothing but snotty and pretty bitchy to us this whole time and all of a sudden you're what, fuck buddies?" Harry gave Draco a knowing look. "I know how it can be with the sexual urges and all."

"You sound like a kid who just touched his first boob," said Draco jokingly, knowing all too well how close he was hitting it home. Harry scowled and sat down.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Harry, reaching for his bag next to his chair. "I was told to give you this." He pulled out a little jar with a note attached to it with a string. He tossed it to Draco, who caught the jar in his hands and picked up the note.

_From Luna, in case we get another chance_, it read. He groaned and opened the jar. A sweet, sticky smell wafted up.

Honey.


	15. Good Girl

**A/N: Shameless plug that Seducing Mr. Malfoy, SexyWitches Inc., and Girls Say the Darnest Things have all gone through edits. GSTDT actually had an accidental duplicate chapter from few weeks ago, so I rewrote chapter 4! Go check it out! Go check all of them out! Leave a review! **

* * *

**Chapter 15: Good Girl**

* * *

Draco avoided Luna like the Plague itself. Whenever she saw him she would begin talking about having a foursome, no matter how many times he explained that he was not interested. Her constant pursuit made some others wonder why she was so suddenly interested in speaking to the boy.

"I can't tell you," said Draco glumly when Ron and Harry cornered him about it in the library. If he blabbed about Snape and Luna, Snape would go straight to Dumbledore.

"I thought we were best mates," said Ron. "What's the big deal? Does she fancy you?"

"No," Draco answered crossly, stacking his books away.

"Why did she want to give you that jar of honey?" asked Harry.

Before Draco could respond, Luna Lovegood herself appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "Hello, boys," she said dreamily.

"Hi, Luna," said Ron. "Say, we've been seeing a lot of you lately...around Draco." He gave her a knowing look, and she smiled.

"Ronald, I'm afraid the matter involves a bit of secrecy," she said pleasantly. She leaned toward Draco. "He told me to keep it on the down low."

"You do realize we heard that," said Harry, frowning. "Who told you to keep what on the down low?"

Luna sighed. "There is something he told me to say when someone probes."

"And what's that?" asked Harry.

"How do you feel about highly inappropriate, age-blind sex acts involving paddles, troll-sized butt plugs, and copious amounts of honey?"

Harry blinked. Draco groaned and covered his face.

"Wicked," breathed Ron.

Luna looked up in pleasant surprise. "Well, in that case-"

"-no, Ron," said Draco quickly. "You do _not_ want to get involved with this."

* * *

"You do realize this is a very strange location to meet," mused Draco, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the trapdoor of the potions basement.

"Which means we are less likely to get caught," said Hermione with a grin.

"Oh, so you wanted to do something for which we can't get caught," Draco said playfully, and Hermione laughed.

"You pervert!" With that she opened the trapdoor with a key she took out of her pocket and lowered herself in. Draco soon followed in, and they stood in the large storage basement full of cauldrons, ingredients, and phials.

"How did you even get a key to this place?" asked Draco, looking around the musty basement in wonder.

"We befriended the potions master, remember?"

Draco stopped and stared. "Snape?" His look darkened, remembering the jar of honey he had received from Luna not too long ago. "Did you have to do something-"

"Oh, Merlin, no," said Hermione with a laugh. "He's just more responsive to my requests."

"Good to know," muttered Draco. He sat on top of a large table in a corner, and she followed suit. "So what did you want to do that we can't get caught for?" he whispered.

"I did mean to talk a little," breathed Hermione, her eyes on his Adam's apple. She bit her lower lip and looked up at him. "But maybe later."

He immediately kissed her square on the lips, and she tilt her body back onto the table. Soon he was on top of her, his mouth hungry for hers and his hands working busily. While his left hand squeezed her right breast his right hand trailed down to the hem of her skirt and lifted it up. He began rubbing her through her knickers. Hermione groaned, her eyes closed.

"You can take it off if you like," came her uncharacteristically shy voice, and he smirked. He pulled down her knickers to her ankles and moved to the edge of the table, where in the semi-darkness of the basement he saw her in plain view. Hermione blushed as she felt his gaze.

"_Oh!_" she gasped. He had kissed her there. "Malfoy..."

He grasped her thighs as he stuck his head between them again and began kissing her inner thighs, so close yet not quite on her increasingly wet pussy. She grabbed her hair sprawled on the table and closed her eyes. "Stop teasing me..." she gasped.

He obliged. This time his tongue much more aggressive than before, and his lips were shameless. Hermione, in her pleasure-filled twists and turns of her head, caught a glimpse of his blond head of hair between her legs and she felt even hotter. As he moved his tongue inside her wet pussy he suddenly glanced up, and their eyes met. He was smirking, and she felt her cheeks burn even hotter, but she didn't want him to stop. She tilt her head back again and covered her face with her hands while Draco kept his tongue busy, thrusting inside of her as she moaned.

"Oh!" she cried as she came, her entire body shaking. He got up, satisfied, and began undoing her shirt. She lifted herself up with some effort to help and to undo her bra, and soon Draco was licking lightly on her nipples, making her shiver.

Instead of begging him to continue, however, she got up - topless and with her skirt on, albeit with her knickers at her ankles, and pushed Draco to lean against the edge of the table. She began unbuckling his belt. He sat, amused and aroused, as she dragged his trousers down and then his boxers. She caressed his erect cock but was still too embarrassed to meet his eyes yet. She lowered herself to the ground - again with some difficulty as her knickers bound her by her ankles - and continued to pleasure him with her hands. Draco was unable to keep his eyes off her: her hair, her breasts, her hands. When in a moment of bravery she kissed the tip of his cock, he grunted in pleasure.

"Good girl," he said almost without thinking, and she giggled.

"Never thought I'd hear _that_ from _you_," she said. She put her mouth around his cock and sucked. He let out another large grunt. Although he would vehemently disagree with this, she felt as if she was getting more pleasure from this than he was. She was exposed and she was pleasuring him, and she was enjoying that even though she would never admit it out loud. It had made her extremely aroused to hear him call her a good girl. She took his cock out of her mouth and began licking it all over, looking up at him to study his expression. He would mostly tilt his head back in ecstasy, but once in a while he would glance down at her and she would feel both embarrassed and aroused by it.

"Fuck," he gasped as he came.

"Maybe, but not today," she whispered with a grin.

* * *

Draco and Hermione were supposed to meet with Professor Sprout in advance the following day to arrange who was going to be responsible for what on the first year field trip. They met in the greenhouse.

"We're going to the Thilbert Mountains," explained Professor Sprout happily. "We'll be able to harvest our own Moon Herbs. Miss Granger can take the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws, and Mr. Malfoy can lead the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs."

"So we won't be together?" asked Hermione, and Draco secretly grinned.

"Largely in the same group, so yes, you'll be together, but you'll be responsible for your assigned Houses," said Professor Sprout. She gave them a skeptical look. "I didn't realize you _wanted_ to be together." She had been familiar with their competitive streaks from year one.

"We don't," said Hermione quickly.

"Good!" laughed Professor Sprout. "Professor Dumbledore did tell me to keep an eye out in case you get _too_ friendly, and I told him, oh, Professor Dumbledore, I've known these kids for seven years. Don't you worry about that!"

The two shared a look.

"Well, I need to get going, but if you can finish organizing the permission slips, that would be fantastic," Sprout said, picking up her messenger bag. "Good night!"

She left the greenhouse and Hermione stepped to get the permission slips, but Draco suddenly picked her up by her waist. "Hey!" she squealed, laughing. He sat on a bench and put her beside him.

Draco smirked and leaned in to kiss her on the lips. It was a soft and gentle kiss, not at all like one you would expect from the "twisted, sexual, secret" sort of relationship they were allegedly having. It was like a kiss that a new teenage couple might share. Both realized this, but neither said a word, hoping the other wouldn't notice. Perhaps it would be less awkward if he pinned her down and began unbuttoning her blouse, but instead he held her close in his arms and they sat there for a while, enjoying each other's presence.

She snuggled into him. "Good girl," he muttered, and she snickered.

"And then I thought I had to do a _lot_ more to hear that," she joked.

Draco bit his lower lip and chuckled, remembering. He held her closer. "Oh, what have we gotten ourselves into," he said softly.


	16. Behind the Counter

**Chapter 16: Behind the Counter**

* * *

"So what's the story with you and the blonde?" asked the little first year Ravenclaw with shiny black hair and glasses. Hermione peered down at the little round boy amidst digging for herbs. She let out a chuckle as she noticed him nudging his little head at Draco, who was on the other side of the field providing water from his wand to wash some herbal leaves that the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff first years had acquired.

"What do you mean?" she asked the little Ravenclaw, who was named Sidney Ryu. She wiped away a chunk of dirt from some roots.

"Are you a free woman?" he asked, and the kids around him giggled. "Can I ask you out?"

"Where would you even take me?" Hermione asked with a laugh.

"Wherever you want," Sidney replied.

Hermione gave him a skeptical look. "Don't you think I'm a bit too old for you?"

Sidney shrugged. "I like older women."

She let out a laughter and went back to cleaning the roots she had unearthed.

"So what do you say?" Sidney was persistent. "If you don't have a thing going with that guy over there..."

She certainly _did_ have a _thing going _with Draco over there. She grinned and blushed a little as she remembered how they had snogged and gotten rather handsy in the boathouse only hours ago before reporting to duty to Professor Sprout.

"You should ask _him_," Hermione muttered, and some Slytherin first years who were recording plant heights next to her made _ooh_'s and _ahh_'s.

Sidney shook his hands free of dirt and got up. "Okay."

"Wait-" Hermione said, but the boy was already on his way to the other side of the field. She watched in half-horror and half-interest as Sidney approached Draco and tapped him on his leg.

* * *

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Draco.

"Are you going out with the dashing brunette over there or not?" asked Sidney rather hotly. Draco glanced over at Hermione, who jumped when their eyes met and went back to furiously digging in the dirt. He laughed.

"Did she send you here?"

"Answer the question, mate," said Sidney fiercely.

Draco got down to Sidney's level in the dirt and grinned. "I'm afraid that she _is_ quite taken," he said. Draco was surprised at himself for how naturally that came out. "But if you want a go at it, I am always appreciative of worthy competition."

Sidney looked at Draco up and down, as if measuring him. "Hmmph." The boy crossed his arms. "Fine."

Draco watched in amusement as Sidney walked back to Hermione.

* * *

"So what did he say?" Hermione said eagerly, hoping she wasn't sounding as eager as she did.

"That you _are_ taken, but possibly open to some diligent fighting for," Sidney replied. He was quite the eloquent eleven year old.

She felt her cheeks warm up. "He said I was taken," she muttered.

Sidney raised a brow skeptically. "I'd rather not get involved if _you_ feel unwilling to be fought for," he said.

Hermione grinned apologetically. "Thanks, Sidney," she said. "But I think I'm quite all right being taken right now."

"We're moving on up!" came Professor Sprout's sprightly voice. "In lines, please!"

As they were instructed, Hermione motioned for two lines to form in front of her. The first year Ravenclaws and Slytherins scrambled to line up, holding their herbs, gloves, buckets, and notepads. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs did the same in front of Draco, who came to stand next to Hermione.

"Hey," he whispered to her.

"Hey," she mirrored, but with her eyes straight ahead.

Draco's tone was playful. "So who's it gonna be, Granger? Me or the twerp?"

"I do like childlike wonder in my men," she muttered as if to herself. He grinned.

"I thought I exhibited some childlike wonder this morning when you put my cock between your-"

"_Malfoy!_" hissed Hermione, her face scarlet. He snickered.

* * *

When Draco returned to the Gryffindor dormitories, he was both exhausted and sweaty. He grabbed some of his clothes and a towel and stepped into the shower. He took off his clothes and, stretching his neck, he pulled aside the shower curtain, and -

"AHHHHH!" he screamed, nearly falling backward.

Luna Lovegood and Snape were standing in his shower. Snape was wearing his silk briefs while Luna was stark naked head to toe. A light brown, sticky substance was dripping from her nipples. Honey.

"WHAT!" screamed Draco, grabbing his towel to hide his vital parts. Snape rolled his eyes, pulled out his wand (from where?), and muttered something under his breath. Draco felt momentarily as if there was water in his ears.

"Silencing charm so we can talk in confidence," muttered Snape. "And for the record, this was _her_ idea."

"WHAT was her idea!?" exclaimed Draco, not knowing where to look.

"I thought you might go with it if you walked into it," said Luna with a shrug. She turned to Snape. "Professor, maybe if you didn't have your briefs-"

"No, Miss Lovegood, I doubt that would have made a difference," said Snape. He grabbed his clothes, which were hanging from a rack. "We are clearly unwanted here..."

Draco hurriedly put back on his sweaty, dirty clothes while Snape dressed and Luna went about washing the honey off her breasts. "How did she even get you to do this?" asked Draco, shaking his head.

"You'd be surprised at how much you're willing to do if you're having _incredibly_ mind-blowing sexual experiences," muttered Snape.

Draco crumpled up his face in disgust. "But you were going to have _sex_ with _me_?"

"Unlike you, I am quite open-minded, Mr. Malfoy," droned Snape indifferently. "But as Dumbledore once used while hugging me, _no...homo_."

Draco frowned. "And why are you all only targeting me, and not Granger?"

Snape shrugged. "You have a reputation."

Draco did a loud groan. _Your reputation precedes you_, Hermione Granger had said. Where had any of that come from?

* * *

"Oh, Merlin's Pants - I started that," laughed Ginny, tilting her head back laughing. Draco stared, incredulous. He had asked Ginny if he had heard from any girls about a certain promiscuous reputation he allegedly had...and somehow he stumbled onto the culprit.

"Why on earth would you do that?" he asked, shaking his head while levitating a marble with his wand. He was practicing some spells for moving things with his wand without saying the words out loud. He was admittedly not too good at it; the marble shook violently although he did not mean for it to happen.

"I really just meant to make you a bit more popular," said Ginny, giggling. "I think it happened when I was talking to some girls and they talked shit about you. That you looked stupid or naive or whatever. I just defensively said that there was more to you...you know, _wink wink. _And then one girl would say she actually does think you look cute, and then some people said they saw you leaving a party with Selena Ahn, and then there were some girls who were obsessed with your fingers-"

"My fingers?" Draco stared down his left hand.

Ginny shrugged. "Apparently they think they look all lean and sexy. And being obsessed with them led to some people thinking they meant you were good at _fingering_ girls-"

The marble dropped onto the table with a clanking noise. "Oh my god," Draco breathed.

"The power of gossip," she said with a grin. "But aren't you glad? Most boys would _kill_ for that sort of reputation."

* * *

"So you're telling me," said Hermione slowly when Draco revealed this to her when they met in the boathouse that evening. "That your reputation was based on a joke by the Weaslette?"

"More or less so," said Draco with a laugh.

Hermione sighed. "Well, that settles it."

"Settles what?"

"I'm definitely going for Sidney Ryu over you. I only hooked up with you because I thought you had this incredible reputation for promiscuity and _great fingering_."

"Oh Merlin, you heard that too," Draco muttered, aghast.

She smirked and reached for the collars of his shirt. She pulled him toward herself, and he almost stumbled into her. They were so close that he felt as if her eyelashes would touch his cheeks. "Don't worry," she whispered with a mischievous grin. "That part turned out to be correct."

He smirked and moved his lips over hers. His hands caressed her face as his tongue coaxed her mouth open, and he felt her body tremble. He wondered if she could feel his body temperature rise.

Draco led her to behind a large, wooden counter, which appeared to have been used for someone to sit and take records of the boats going in and out. It seemed it had not been in use, however, and was directly facing the door. Even if someone had come in, they would at least be behind the counter; he figured they'd take extra caution to be careful, although the boathouse was empty. There was a small stool behind the counter and Draco sat on it while Hermione stood in front of him, kissing him. He hugged her body and his hands rubbed her ass beneath her school skirt. She moaned as his hand worked its way to her pussy.

"Take me," she hissed. Draco quickly got off the stool and she bent, rest her elbows on it. He got behind her and began unbuckling his belt. "Hurry," she begged, he gave her a slap on her ass with one hand while the other hand worked on getting his stiff cock out.

"And you called _me_ filthy," he said with a smirk as he lifted up her skirt. He pulled down her white knickers to her knees and fingered her wet opening. She moaned loudly. He stepped back a step and admired the view; bent over with her skirt upward and her nickers at her knees, her round ass and pussy were visible from the back. She too felt the coldness of the autumn night more vividly as he moved back, and for some reason the vulnerability made her feel more aroused.

"Hurry, put it in me," she begged, and he could see the desperation in the way her thighs and even her pussy seemed to be moving. He bit his lower lip and smirked.

Hermione felt his hands on her hips, and then one of them left her body to help guide his cock into her. She felt the tip tease her wet opening and moaned loudly again.

"Ohhhh, fuck," she groaned.

"I'm going to have to put a silencing charm on you if you're going to be that loud," Draco said with a smirk, teasing her wet pussy with the end of his hard cock.

"But you love hearing me moan," she said breathlessly, her fingers grasping the stool hard and pushing her hips backward against his cock. "Hurry."

"Now, Granger, where are our manners?" he said playfully, running his hands up her sides and giving her breasts a firm squeeze.

"Please," she gasped.

He gave her bare ass a slap before holding his cock and guiding it inside her now dripping pussy. She moaned as she felt him slide slowly inside of her. She bit her lower lip hard, tightening.

Before he pulled out again to continue, however, they both heard the doors of the boathouse - directly facing the counter behind which they were trying to shag - bust open with a bang. They froze. A tall, old wizard stood there.

"Mr. Malfoy!" said Albus Dumbledore, pleasantly surprised to see perhaps the top quarter of the boy's body above the counter.

"Professor!" said Draco hoarsely, quickly putting his arm on top of the counter as if he had simply be leaning against it. His cock meanwhile was still inside Hermione, who was frozen to the spot.

"I meant to take a boat out for a night sail on the lake but realized the doors were open, although stuck. Took some effort to bust it open," said Dumbledore happily. "What are you doing there?"

"Uh-" stammered Draco. His eyes quickly diverted to in front of him, where Hermione was still bent over the stool with his cock deep inside of her. Hermione had tried to move forward, but realized that the stool would make a squeaking noise and that her head would be visible from the side of the counter. Draco also realized that any movement right now would only raise suspicion. Hermione was, in perhaps the most comical and tragic turn of sexual encounters she had ever been in, stuck in the bent position with Draco Malfoy's cock deep in her pussy while Dumbledore stood at the door looking confused.


	17. But

**Chapter 17: But**

* * *

Dumbledore stared at Draco curiously.

"Uh," Draco stammered again.

Dumbledore stepped to his side to get to the walkway leading to where Draco was, and Draco screamed. "No!" His body shook in doing so and his cock drove deeper into Hermione, who bit her lips inward to not let any sound escape.

"And why is that, Mr. Malfoy?" asked Dumbledore, looking increasingly concerned. He had no idea that a certain Hermione Granger bent in front of Draco was the reason the boy was looking a bit flustered as he rested his left arm on top of the counter. "What do you have back there?"

"Nothing," Draco said quickly. "I, er, would rather if you didn't come around here, sir."

"And why is that?"

"Because...because sir, some of my friends pulled a nasty prank on me. I haven't got any clothes on. They took off with my trousers and underwear, as well as my wand."

"Oh, dear!" said Dumbledore sympathetically. "Surely I can help-"

"Yes, but I would be awfully embarrassed if you were to come around and see."

Dumbledore gave the boy an understanding nod and stopped walking. "Tell you what, Mr. Malfoy. I'll do this-" and with a wave of his hand a paper bag appeared on top of the counter next to Draco. "And I'll be on my way in my boat to give you some privacy."

Draco glanced at the paper bag, in which he assumed there should be a pair of pants and underwear. "Thank you," he said, and he smirked at feeling Hermione tighten around his cock.

"Who did this to you?" Dumbledore asked, opening up the side gates so his boat could move out onto the lake.

"I'd rather not say, sir. Just some mates horsing around, don't want to get anyone into serious trouble." He was getting increasingly good at the lying. He momentarily remembered, with a chill, that Dumbledore was skilled in Legilimency. At the same time, however, Draco hadn't felt anything invading his thoughts. He doubted the headmaster would use Legilimency - a heavily regulated and often illegal practice anyway - unless he was interrogating someone on a serious matter.

Dumbledore's boat floated out of the boathouse with Dumbledore waving happily at Draco from it. Soon the gates closed and he and Hermione were alone in the boathouse once more. With a loud creak, Hermione moved off the stool, Draco's cock sliding out of her. She stretched her back.

"That was close," Draco muttered with a chuckle as Hermione stumbled a little, as her knickers were still binding her by the knees. He reached for her bum and gave it a squeeze under the skirt, and she shrieked in surprise.

"Quiet, Granger, he might come back," Draco droned playfully, his finger reaching down to her pussy. The tip of his finger teased it wet while she tried to pretend she was upset.

"Guess we should move," she snickered. "In case he comes back."

"Room of Requirement?" suggested Draco, and she rolled her eyes.

"That's seriously the _most _overrated place. Where's the fun in that?"

"You're a dirty little thing, aren't you, Granger?" Draco laughed, and she gave him a playful scowl.

* * *

"Nope, absolutely not," said Harry, aghast.

"Come on, mate," Draco pleaded. The two sat across from each other in the Great Hall, having breakfast. The Great Hall was loud with students grabbing for food and talking, so they could talk with significant degree of privacy because no one was paying attention to them.

"I am not lending you my invisibility cloak - a gift from my _dead father_ which has been handed down the Potter family for _generations_ \- so you can have sex with Hermione Granger."

"If you put it like that it sounds really bad," pouted Draco.

"It sounds bad however you say it," snapped Harry. "Just go to the Room of Requirement."

"_Everyone_ goes to the Room of Requirement."

"What makes you so special?" asked Harry with a scowl.

"I'm sensing a lot of negativity here," Draco said in mock seriousness. "Are you having trouble getting laid, mate?"

Harry scowled. "Shut it," he muttered crossly.

It was then that Ginny came over to their side of the table and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck from the back. "Good morning, love," she said happily. In the past week or so the two had been more public about their relationship.

"Hi," Harry said, and he mouthed "no means no" to Draco.

"Hi, Ginny," Draco said slowly. He sighed dramatically. "Fine, Harry, I guess no means no."

As Harry glared, Ginny cocked her head to the side. "What's going on?"

"I asked Harry for a favor but he won't budge," Draco said sadly. "I just wanted to borrow his cloak for a night. Gee. Maybe you can talk him into saying yes?"

This was mostly noise to Harry, who was feeling Ginny's plump breasts behind his head. She squeezed tighter. She did quite feel that she owed Draco one. "Come on, Harry, it's just one night."

"I just-"

Ginny leaned down to Harry's ear and whispered something. Harry's eyes widened, and soon his breathing got coarser.

"Fine," he muttered.

"I'm sorry, what's that?" asked Draco, scooping up some cornflakes.

"You can borrow it," Harry breathed quickly. He got up and followed Ginny out of the Great Hall immediately thereafter, leaving his breakfast unfinished.

* * *

"Oh, Mother!" exclaimed Hermione in surprise. Her mother was definitely _not_ someone she had been expecting to see when she came out of one of the bathroom stalls, standing in front of the mirror reapplying lipstick.

"Hello, dear," said Mrs. Granger, smiling at her daughter in the reflection.

"What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming!"

"Just had to drop off something for your father," said Mrs. Granger, putting her lipstick in her purse. "But I'm afraid I don't have too much time, as there is a fan meet I am committed to in Diagon Alley."

Hermione nodded and went to the sink to wash her hands. Her mother eyed her thoughtfully.

"How is it going with that boy Malfoy?"

Hermione jumped. "Mother!" she cried. "I-I-" she stammered, blushing.

"It's quite all right, you can tell me," Mrs. Granger said with a soft smile. "Although, I think I heard your father mention a no dating restriction as a part of Professor Dumbledore's Program..."

Hermione blushed harder. Were Draco and she really _dating_? They sure were having great fun...

"I am _not_ dating him right now," Hermione muttered, drying her hands and avoiding eye contact with her mother.

"But?" Mrs. Granger asked with a knowing grin.

"What do you mean, but?" Hermione blushed harder. "There is no but."

"I'm glad. You should think carefully before anal-"

"_Mother!_"

* * *

"You know what I was thinking earlier today?" Hermione suddenly said. Draco looked down at her incredulously.

"Are you serious?" he asked. "You are going to talk that casually about something while sucking me?"

In the interest of being daring and gutsy with the newly borrowed invisibility cloak, they had chosen to use a corner of the large library for the next escapade. The large cloak hung with some attachment and floating spells to serve as a curtain while Hermione knelt to give Draco a blowjob after classes ended for the day. She held his erect cock in one hand while she continued:

"I mean, I thought perhaps as the girl, I ought to be concerned that this has been purely sexual."

"It sure looks like it," he muttered. They both held their breaths as they noticed Lavender Brown enter their corner of the library to look for a book. She spent a few seconds looking around and left.

"I mean, it's been loads of fun," Hermione continued just as thoughtfully as before.

"It was until you stopped," breathed Draco, and Hermione gave him a playful scowl. She gave the head a lick. "Listen, or I'll bite," she threatened in mock seriousness.

"That's an extremely effective negotiation tactic," Draco muttered. "I might be able to listen better if we took a break entirely, though." He reached to take his cock from her - which he had never imagined he would do voluntarily - but she slapped his hand away.

"No, I like this better," she said with a smirk.

"You are the most cunning, evil-"

"I know," she said. She lifted his cock and put her tongue on his balls. He flinched at the sight. She snickered and continued. "Malfoy, as fun as this is, I didn't want you to think that I am doing it just because it's fun. I...I think I've come to care for you."

This was admittedly something Draco had not meant to hear from a girl - Hermione Granger of all people - who had put her tongue on his balls literally two seconds before saying those words.

"Well?" she asked expectantly.

He groaned. "Granger. I want to say likewise."

Disappointment fell in her face. "But?" she muttered.

"But...I can't really teach you that you shouldn't take whatever a bloke tells you while you are giving him a blowjob seriously by starting with an exception." He grumbled. "I really do mean it when I say I've somehow come to care for you too, but _any_ bloke would tell you that in this situation."

Hermione grinned and tightened her grip of his cock, and he let out a hiss. Looking up at him, she took his cock all the way in her mouth and out, and he groaned in pleasure.

"I'm aware," she said with a smirk, her lips still oh so close to the tip of his throbbing cock. "Why do you think I chose this moment to ask?"

"Oh, you conniving witch," he breathed.


	18. Night Rounds

**Chapter 18: Night Rounds**

* * *

"Oy! Draco!"

Draco looked up from his book. "Yeah?"

Seamus stood at the door. "Dumbledore says come to his office."

For a second Draco was confused as to why, and he remembered. The Program was still going on. Neither he nor Hermione had heard for about a week, and he had somehow forgotten the _main_ reason for keeping the relationship with Hermione a secret. Draco nodded and exited the Gryffindor common room out onto the hallway to see Hermione waiting there.

"You heard?" she asked.

"Yep. Head over there now?"

Her eyes shifted quickly to make sure that the hallway was empty. "Hold on," she whispered, and she reached and gave him a kiss square on the mouth. He felt her lips open and he slid his tongue in, inviting and wanting more. When they finally pulled apart he felt slightly dazed.

"I meant for it to be a short little kiss," came her breathless voice, and he nodded in agreement.

"I wish we could spend more time together," he said.

She stared at him. "What? We have."

"In public," he said. It didn't sound like it to her, but he had said this very carefully. He wasn't sure how she would feel about it, no matter how much fun they had the past few weeks.

"Oh, Malfoy," she muttered. "You know why we can't."

His heart fell. Of course. She was after all a Granger. When he looked up to again see her face, however, she looked confused at his reaction.

"I am only doing this so that you can finish the Program," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh."

He brightened up at once, and she laughed.

"Maybe screw the Program-" Draco began, but she shook her head firmly.

"You are finishing it," she said. "We can wait."

He smiled. "Hermione Granger. I...I think I'm in love with you."

She grinned in response. "Sorry, what's that?"

"You heard me," he said with a smirk. "I've fallen in love with you. And you don't have me by my balls right now."

"Well, figuratively I do," she teased. She tip-toed again but this time to give him a hug. Warmth spread all throughout his body. "I love you, too," she whispered in his ear.

* * *

"Come in, come in!" Dumbledore said cheerfully as the two entered the headmaster's office. "How are you two?"

"Good, sir," Hermione said primly before sitting down.

"And you, sir?" asked Draco, taking his seat.

"I am fantastic," said Dumbledore. "Now, now, now. We are nearing the end of the Program! How have your experiences been?"

The two shared a look.

"I enjoyed it." It was Draco who spoke. "I think I became much more understanding of how different backgrounds can affect views and behavior. Not necessarily the blood itself, but the environment."

"I agree," said Hermione. "And I do feel awful for any discriminatory remarks I may have made," she added. He stared at her. Merlin, did she look so lovable right at that moment.

Dumbledore clasped his hands together. "That is precisely the purpose of this Program," he said happily. "Now, for your next task, you will be doing the security rounds tonight. I have given Filch the night off."

The two nodded. It didn't seem all that terrible.

* * *

"THIS IS TERRIBLE," groaned Hermione loudly. Draco snickered. They had been walking in the empty halls of the giant castle for over half an hour, with no end in sight.

"Come on," Draco said. "Let's take a break." He pulled her around the corner into a different hallway with dimmer lighting.

"We're still way too close to the Slytherin dorms," she said, but she seemed excited. "And what did you exactly have in mind?" she asked playfully.

"Well, Filch _did_ give us the keys to _everywhere_," he droned.

"Just kiss me right now," breathed Hermione impatiently, and he obliged. He took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, his tongue both hungry and demanding. She smelled faintly of strawberries and lilac, and her lips were so wonderfully soft. He felt lost in them.

"Over here!" came a voice, and the two quickly stopped and jumped into a shadowed corner of the hall behind a suit of medieval armor. Blaise strolled into the hallway with his hands in his pockets, led by Pansy Parkinson. Draco did not really know her other than that she was a Slytherin in his year. He wasn't sure how Hermione would feel about seeing what he was sure would take place shortly. He tightened his grip of her protectively.

"You're full of surprises, Parkinson," droned Blaise, leaning against the wall while Pansy went to work. She unzipped his trousers and took out his cock. She began to massage it with one hand while her other hand quickly unbuttoned her blouse for Blaise's viewing pleasure. Her hand moved quickly and she whispered and cooed into his ear.

"Face the wall," came Blaise's low voice, and Pansy immediately obeyed. They switched spots and she faced the stone wall, and he pressed on her back for her to bend a little. His cock was now erect, and it seemed like they weren't going to waste any time. He lifted up her skirt. Even in the dark Draco and Hermione could see her round ass covered only by a red thong. He pulled it down roughly to her lower thighs, spit on his cock, and penetrated her immediately.

"Ohhh!" Pansy moaned loudly, and Blaise kept pounding with short grunts.

Isn't our job today to make sure that _doesn't_ happen? wondered Draco, afraid to voice his concern in case Hermione was feeling uncomfortable. He couldn't see her face, but she stood there perfectly still, staring.

With one particularly large grunt, Blaise had his release. He zipped himself up and left immediately, leaving Pansy there with her lower arms resting against the wall while she panted. Her skirt flipped up and her thong at her legs, her ass was still exposed while she stood there. She twisted her legs about; it was clear _she_ hadn't quite had her release yet. Pansy nevertheless pulled her thong up and her skirt down, and soon she also left the hallway.

Draco and Hermione stood there in the dark. Draco wasn't sure what to do or what to say.

"Uh-" he began.

"Do that to me," came Hermione's breathless voice.

"What?"

"Do that to me," she said again. She turned to him. "Please?"

"Is that because of that-"

"No, nothing to do with Blaise," she said quickly. "I just...here." She fumbled for his hand and forced it to her crotch under her panties. He felt the fabric. She was soaking wet. "It's long since I've forgotten about him, but I _am_ turned on," she whispered. She turned around to face the wall and bent forward. "Please?"

It was perhaps surprising that _he_ wasn't as turned on by what took place between Blaise and Pansy. He had been distracted the entire time about how Hermione was taking in all of this. Meanwhile _she_ had been getting hot and bothered about recreating the scene.

"Looks like I have _you_ by the balls now," mused Draco.

"Please," Hermione breathed again.

"Please what?"

"Please fuck me," she begged.

"You are a naughty girl," he said, very pleased with himself. Instead of lifting up her skirt and pulling down her panties, he put his finger underneath her from the back and pushed up against the wet fabric. She moaned.

"You're killing me," she said. "Please fuck me already, I am so wet. Put it in me."

"Put it in you...?"

"Put it in me, _p__lease_."

He had had enough of punishing her. He flipped the back of her skirt up, and she trembled in excitement. Smirking, he pulled down her green knickers. Even in the dark he could _see_ that she was extremely wet. He pulled out his cock and teased her exposed pussy. She moaned.

"Ohhh, Malfoy, I am going to kill you if you don't put it in right this second," she groaned.

"Where did all the manners go, Granger?" he said with a chuckle.

"_Please_ fuck me," she said breathlessly.

"Much better," he said. He pushed his cock inside.

"Ahhh!" she moaned in pleasure. Her right arm fell so her fingers could work her clits while he pumped in and out of her. "Faster!" she cried.

He thrust in and out faster and harder. Hermione tilt her head back and her entire body reacted to each thrust.

"Oh yes! Malfoy!" she cried out. The sound of his name turned him on even more.

"Ohhhh!" she cried, and she came, and he soon followed.

Panting, he helped her put her wet knickers back on. "I must say, we probably looked loads better than Zabini and Parkinson."

"I look loads better than Parkinson for sure, but..." she trailed off, and he stared at her in mock surprise.

"I am hurt, Granger!" he cried.

"I am kidding," she laughed.

"You better be," he warned. "The next time something like that happens, I am just going to sit back and watch you try to relieve yourself alone."

"Oooh, that sounds hot," she said, and he chuckled.

Together, hand in hand, they walked down the dark hallway to resume their duties. "I hope we weren't too loud," Hermione muttered.

"Eh, we probably should've put on a silencing charm," he muttered in response. They turned the corner.

"Yes, a silencing charm would have been an excellent idea," came Dumbledore's apologetic voice.


	19. Make Me

**Happy Halloween/belated Halloween, readers! There is one more chapter after this one. Please take a moment to leave a review, thanks! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 19: Make Me**

* * *

Hermione tried to speak but no sound came out. There was no telling how much Dumbledore had heard, and without that information even Hermione Granger couldn't come up with a valid excuse for all the loud moaning and dirty talk that took place mere minutes ago. She was overcome with guilt. She just _had_ to try and mess with Draco's teenage urges, didn't she? And in doing so she had fallen for him, and he for her. And now this. The Program was off and she had cost both of them something they had peeled potatoes and babysat first years for.

"Follow me to my office, please," said Dumbledore softly. He began walking and the two followed. Hermione wished she and Draco could communicate telepathically so that they could fabricate a story that made sense. Draco's face was solemn. It seemed he wasn't going to try. He had, after all, very recently voiced his willingness to give it up voluntarily.

They finally got inside Dumbledore's office and sat. The silence was unnerving for Hermione, who was increasingly feeling that this was all her fault.

"Professor Dumbledore-" she began, but the old wizard put his hand up.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked quietly.

There was undoubtedly a question about that. Was it the time Draco had told her he wanted to _do things _to her? Was it the first time they had kissed? The time they admitted feelings for each other?

"It's hard to say, sir," Draco answered truthfully. "But I'm not sorry."

"Excuse me?" Dumbledore said. He stared at Draco with curiosity. "What do you mean, you are not sorry?"

"It's a silly rule." Draco's voice was firm. "If the whole point of the Program is to encourage seeing past whether you are Muggle-born or pure-blood, a relationship formed between us should be the best indicator that we have succeeded."

Hermione was impressed. What she did not expect however was the grin that crept up in Dumbledore's face.

"Merlin's pants," she breathed, realization dawning on her. "That really wasn't a rule, was it!?" she asked accusingly, pointing a finger at the old wizard's face.

"It's not polite to point, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said pleasantly. He grinned wider. "But yes, you are right."

Draco stared. "What?"

"It is a rule that makes no sense, and honestly I was surprised that no one questioned it in the beginning," Dumbledore continued.

"Why _did_ you tell us it was a rule, then?" asked Draco, flabbergast.

"Several reasons," said Dumbledore. "First, I thought Miss Granger might take advantage of it to get out of the Program, and that her efforts to do so will bring you two together more quickly, thus pushing the objective of the Program further."

This was absolutely true.

"How did you even think to-" Draco stammered.

"I read a lot," said Dumbledore calmly with a mischievous grin.

Hermione was livid. "You lied to us!"

"I lie to all my students," Dumbledore responded dismissively as if it were nothing. "In an alternate universe, for example, if I thought it might help my student in the long run, and especially if that student didn't have other adult figures to rely on, I would lie to him every single year and just give hints of the truth at the end of each year when things seemingly fall apart and partially due to my lies."

"What?" asked Draco confusedly, and Hermione also narrowed her eyes in puzzlement. Dumbledore simply shrugged.

"You said you had _several_ reasons," Hermione growled.

"You wouldn't understand unless you had an OTP, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore. "If anything, I am now considering making it a part of the Program altogether. You children are so prone to do precisely the things I forbid." He looked deep in thought for a moment. "Do you happen to know how Mr. Colin Creevey feels about any of the Slughorn ladies?"

"Hold up, hold up," Draco muttered, trying to process all of this. "So you are telling me we haven't been disqualified from the Program?"

"No, you haven't. In fact I would say you are breezing through it in flying colors." Dumbledore smiled. He leaned on his table and rested his head in his open palms, cupping his own face. "So...you do fancy each other now?"

Hermione shifted in her chair uncomfortably and Draco coughed.

Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "You're going steady, yes?"

"Professor!" Hermione chastised him, looking more embarrassed than she did when she thought the old man had heard the two shagging behind a suit of armor.

"I'm afraid I can't pry too much given my position as headmaster," said Dumbledore apologetically. "But all in all I am thrilled that this has worked out for all of us."

Draco raised a brow at the old man. "I mean, all of you," Dumbledore hastily corrected himself. "Both of you."

* * *

The entire school was abuzz the next day as Draco and Hermione began going about the halls and classes much like you would expect a high-teen couple to: they held hands, openly hugged, and stole kisses. Ron was confused and then angry, while Harry was a mix of uncertainty and acceptance. Ginny seemed to find the entire thing hilarious. Most students found it hard to hide their surprise. Blaise glared at them with a clenched jaw but did not say anything.

"I can't believe you are dating her," Ron said in a low grumble when Draco rejoined his friends at the Gryffindor table for dinner in the Great Hall. "Hermione Granger, of all people? She's completely evil."

Draco shrugged and grinned. "I kind of like that about her."

"And snobby, and elitist-"

"Those two are synonyms, I think," Harry said, chewing on a breadstick.

"The point is," Ron pressed on, "I just don't buy that it's not all a part of a nasty prank."

"Nasty prank to do what?" Ginny mused, helping herself to some baked salmon.

Draco poured himself another cup of water. "Well, if it _is_ a prank of some sort, I must say, I would be fine with that."

"And why?" asked Ron.

Draco smiled mischievously and gestured Ron to get up from his side of the table so he could lean over and hear what Draco would then whisper to him. Harry rolled his eyes at the two while Ginny stared on with a curious look.

Ron's eyes widened. "She lets you...you do...Merlin..._she can do that_?" he stammered as Draco continued whispering.

"I wanna hear!" cried Ginny, jumping up, but Ron quickly pushed her head down.

"Not for kids," he said sternly. He cleared his throat. "Well...doesn't sound like she's pranking you or anything."

"Nope," Draco said smugly, sitting back down and picking up his fork.

Ron looked like he'd sit back down for a second, but a thought seemed to preoccupy him. He stared at Draco with a look of clear respect and admiration.

* * *

"I can't believe he did that to us," Draco muttered with a chuckle that evening as he walked Hermione back to the Slytherin dungeons. He was of course referring to Dumbledore.

"That conniving old man," she grumbled.

He gave her an amused look. "You do realize this is _good_ news, rather than bad."

Hermione stopped walking and did a big sigh. Draco stopped in his tracks as well and raised a brow. She cleared her throat.

"It's just that now that it's not a secret anymore, I'm not sure if I'm attracted to you anymore," she said in mock seriousness, all despite the ridiculous display of affection they had given to the entire student body all day.

_That conniving witch_. It was clear that she was joking, but he felt mischief flicker within him.

"Oh, good," he said. "I am _so_ relieved to hear that, Granger."

He was a much better actor than she was. He saw her face distort ever so slightly and had to try very hard not to laugh. She narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn't tell if he were joking or not, and knew how embarrassed and hurt she would be if she played it off like he was joking and it turned out that he wasn't.

He solemnly put his hands on her shoulders. "I have to admit, it was fun romping around with you. And you're a nice girl, but...it really isn't quite the same."

This time, Hermione caught the mischief in his eyes. She wanted to smack him across the head, but for the moment she kept her cool. She did a larger sigh. "I guess so. Too bad. I'd wanted to try it."

"Try what?"

"You know what we were talking about before we got caught? You said next time you'd just _watch me, _but I guess we won't ever get to that if we are over." She began walking down the hall by herself, leaving Draco speechless to the spot.

It took him a moment to recuperate and he sprinted down to catch up and throw his arm around her shoulder. "You did it once, maybe you can do it again."

"Do what again?" she asked indifferently, suppressing a smile as they walked.

Draco smirked. "Seduce me again, of course."

Hermione stopped walking and turned to face him. She reciprocated his smirk and leaned toward him to whisper in his ear.

"Make me."


	20. Bonus Chapter

**BONUS Chapter 20:** **22**** Years Later**

* * *

"Honestly speaking, I'd forgotten about it," said Draco amusedly, sitting back in his chair. "Isn't that strange? I mean, that's what brought us together."

Hermione massaged her temples. "Stop grinning like that. I'm terrified."

Draco stared at his wife curiously. "Why?"

"Because, knowing Dumbledore, I just _know_ there is going to be more to it." She paced the kitchen, her hands on her hips.

"Like there was for us?" Draco asked with a smirk. "Also, I cannot get over the fact that Dumbledore is still around. Love the man, but he's got to be at least two hundred years old."

"Never mind that, let's focus on what's important here," said Hermione with a snap. "I need to figure out who it's gonna be. The girl Dumbledore's pairing Shane with."

"I'm sure it'd turn out fine," Draco laughed. "Look at us."

"I mean, we're not even completely pure-blood anymore!" exclaimed Hermione. "He doesn't have to learn a lesson about integration; he's seen us together all his life! Whom is he going to be paired up with? A Muggle-born? A pureblood? Why do we even _have_ the Program anymore when there is virtually no discrimination?"

Draco opened up his Daily Prophet and lowered his dark rimmed glasses. "I am pretty sure the Program's not so much about that anymore." He glanced at the coffee table on which the letter from their son lay open. "Anything else in the mail today?"

Hermione groaned. "We have the newsletter from Luna and Snape," she muttered. She picked it up. "_Spice up your love life with more people. As in us. Add us to your love life._"

"Sounds like they need an editor."

Hermione nodded and massaged her temples again. "The same old. Okay, I need to figure this Program thing out."

"Just let it run its course, sweetheart," Draco droned. "It turned out well for us, so who knows it won't turn out well for Shane?"

But with a loud _crack_!Hermione had already Apparated out.

* * *

Blaise looked mortified to see Hermione at his doorstep with her hands on her hips. Although they were both nearing forty, it was hard to forget the times he had romped around with her as teenagers.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, glancing back inside to see if his wife had noticed.

"Oh, grow up," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "I just wanted to know if you'd heard anything from your daughter about the Program. Shane's being assigned someone soon."

"Who's there?" came a voice from inside the house. Blaise hesitated before making way for his wife.

"Oh, Hermione!" cried Selena Ahn Zabini. She threw her hands around her old friend. "What brings you here?"

"Just wanted to ask if you had heard anything from your Harper," Hermione replied as they pulled apart. "About the Program? Has she been assigned anyone yet?"

Selena shook her head. "I don't think she was chosen for the Program this year, actually."

Hermione frowned. "I thought it was a graduation requirement for everyone."

"Not for everyone," Selena said. "Just whomever Dumbledore picks."

Hermione groaned. "Of course."

"You are concerned about Shane?" Blaise said slowly. "I mean...he would be the last person to be picked for the Program, considering his...family background."

"That's what you'd think," grumbled Hermione. "But it increasingly appears to be just something Dumbledore likes to do for fun."

"Interesting," said Selena. "But sorry, Hermione, we haven't really heard from Harper about the Program. I'll let you know if I hear anything, though."

* * *

"I mean, does it really matter?" asked Ginny, pouring Hermione a cup of hot tea.

"Draco was far from my radar before the Program," Hermione muttered. "And so if Dumbledore's got his eyes on a girl for Shane-"

"Dumbledore can't _make_ you fall for someone," said Harry. Over the past several years he had gotten used to having the Malfoys - including Hermione - over in his home. "If something happens, then maybe it was meant to be."

"Draco and I were definitely meant to be," said Hermione.

"Didn't question it," laughed Ginny.

"Well, we've got nothing for you," said Harry. "Our Lily is far from being seventh year."

Hermione bit her lower lip. "I know. I just had to talk about it with _someone_. I even went and talked to the Zabinis."

* * *

"You have got to be kidding me," muttered Jackson Rayne, looking just as surprised to see Hermione Granger Malfoy at his door as Blaise Zabini was. "You've got some nerve, coming here."

"Men really need to get over things that happened literally decades ago," said Hermione, rolling her eyes. "I'm just here to ask if you've heard anything about the Program this year. Your daughter is in her seventh year, right?"

Jackson nodded slowly. "And you are here because...?"

"I just wanted to see if she'd heard whom she's been paired up with. Thought it might be with our Shane."

"Why does it even matter?" said Jackson crossly. "Some stupid Program-"

"Well, so you've definitely heard of Dumbledore's use of it."

He groaned. "I knew I should've sent Melisande to Durmstrang-"

_Not easy affording it when your family's gone bankrupt, is it? _Hermione thought to herself, secretly smug. "Well, so did you hear from her or no?"

"She did tell me she got paired," said Jackson. "But she didn't say it was to your bloody son."

"To whom, then?" Hermione asked.

"She didn't say either way. Maybe it _was_ to your son," Jackson said, looking more irritated by the second. He stared down at Hermione. "I hope to Merlin it wasn't to your son."

"Likewise," snapped Hermione.

* * *

"I _really_ don't understand why I need this, considering my dad's a Muggle-born and my mum's pureblood," muttered Shane Malfoy, his hands in his pockets as he walked down the hall of Hogwarts. It was his seventh year and he'd finally gotten his partner for the Program assigned. "And like, I know you already, we're good friends, so what's the big deal?"

"Well, Dumbledore's must have had _something_ in mind," replied Albus Potter.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading! I meant to do a full chapter at the end but felt like Ch. 19 was a good place to end, but since I promised you a chapter 20 I thought I'd add in a fun little bonus chapter. Thanks for subscribing and reviewing; I read every single one of your reviews and I thank you for them! Make sure to follow me as an author so you'll be notified of new stories. I'll definitely be slowing down a bit now that this is over. Please leave a review! :)


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